A Rather Grimm Teammate
by dragoncraftertex
Summary: Creatures of Grimm. Soulless beasts that roam Remnant, nothing on their minds but "Kill." So, what happens when Cole, your average RWBY fan, ends up the first beowolf with a soul? And isn't he starting a little bit early on in the timeline? (Rated T for censored language and near-deaths)
1. I Did Not Ask to be Tiny

_**A Rather Grimm Teammate**_

 **===Chapter 1 | I Did Not Ask to be Tiny ===**

Cole woke up in the middle of the woods, but could immediately tell something was off. First off, even when he stood up, the trees towered over him, and the ground was far too close. Also… he was in the body of a wolf. A _Beo_ wolf. A beowolf _cub_. ' _Uh… what? How… did I end up in… a beowolf? I mean, I'm a RWBY fan, but… seriously? What is this, a badly written fanfic?'_ He tried to talk, to say something, _anything,_ but it seemed that beowolf vocal cords were not built for human speech. ' _As annoying a fact as it is, it makes sense,'_ Cole thought to himself. Seeing a convenient nearby puddle of water, Cole got up and ran over to it… or rather tried. Turns out, beowolves didn't walk exactly the same as humans. Probably something to do with the extra-long arms. But running on all fours seemed quite easy now… still, better practice two-legged walking again. He made his way over to the puddle and stared at his reflection. He was, indeed, a beowolf, complete with a bone mask. However, there were two major differences. The usual red markings on the standard grimm's mask were blue on his, and, instead of red eyes that instilled fear in the hearts of men, he had two normal-looking, black ones.

His observations were interrupted when he heard a squeak somewhere off in the woods. After a second, it came again. He decided to investigate. As he headed toward the sound, he noticed something else through the trees. It was a… was that a decrepit house? Hold up… it looked familiar! Cole approached the house, and the squeaking sound got louder. Retreating back into the bushes surrounding the dirt path, he watched as a young girl in pigtails, pulling a wagon behind her, stumbled up the beaten path. Ok then…

Even from the bushes on the side of the path, Cole could sense her anxiety and trepidation. ' _Well, I_ am _in the body of a Grimm,'_ Cole reasoned. Although he was able to control the grim(m) instincts with surprising ease, young Yang would be a shining beacon **[ ;) ]** for less… lenient… creatures.

As if on cue, he heard growls coming from inside the rundown structure. Yang looked up wearily but looked too exhausted to do anything. Cole knew if he did nothing, Qrow would intervene before it was too late. ' _But I might as well make a good first impression.'_

He ran out of the bushes. Yang tried to raise her fists, but was too tired to really get in a stance. Cole skidded to a stop in front of Yang and turned to the house, growling at the red eyes glowing from the darkness. The beowolves slowly crept out of the dilapidated structure, but hesitated when they saw Cole, his back to the young girls. The lead wolf shook its head, then lunged at the group of three… only to get cut in half mid-leap. Qrow had arrived. The rest of the creatures of Grimm faltered only slightly before renewing their assault. Not that it did them any good. Qrow tore through the wolves like a hot knife through butter **[*]**. After all, he had two small, defenseless nieces to protect. As the last wolf wailed and collapsed, Cold suddenly found himself with a sword pointed at his face. ' _Uh…'_

"Huh," Qrow said, leaning closer, "You're not like the rest. And I don't just mean size, though that's part of it. No… I sense something different. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had aura!"

Cole tentatively reached out one claw and wrote in the dirt. " _Yeah… please don't kill me."_

Qrow raised an eyebrow and put his sword behind his back.

"Huh. I'm not drunk yet so… you're coming with me." With that, he pushed past Cole and looked to an exhausted-but relieved-Yang. "Don't think I haven't forgotten about you young lady. Care to explain _what the **** you were thinking?_ " **[**]**

Cole could feel the guilt and regret pouring off Yang. Then Qrow noticed the photograph lying in the wagon next to a still-sleeping Ruby. He picked it up, and stared at it for a while. "I see. Come on, we're going back home. You too, Grimm."

Cole grabbed the wagon handle (at least he still had opposable thumbs) and dragged it behind him as he followed Qrow, who had Yang on his shoulder. They walked for hours, only encountering the occasional grimm, which was quickly dispatched by Qrow.

Eventually, Cole could see a familiar house peeking through the trees. "Ok, grimm? Stay behind me. I don't want you killed before we can figure up what's up with you." With that, Qrow opened the door and called inside, "Hello?" Silence. "Huh. Tai's running late. Probably for the best."

They entered the tidy little cabin, and Qrow grabbed Ruby from the wagon, and took both the girls upstairs. After a couple moments, he came back down. "Just leave the wagon in the corner there," He gestured behind the table. Once Cole dragged the wagon over, Qrow waved Cole over into the next room and held up a scroll. "You know what this is?"

Nod

"You know how to use it?"

Cole made a 'more-or-less' motion with his hand… or paw.

Qrow tapped it a few times, then handed it to Cole.

The scroll had some kind of 'notepad' app open.

"So. You came out and defended my nieces from the creatures of Grimm, even though you are one. Care to explain?"

" _First off, I have a name, it's 'Cole,' and second I saved them because I actually have a soul… and they were about to get torn to shreds by wolves. I couldn't exactly stand by."_

"Mhm… well, this is different. I can definitely tell you've got aura, and you seem willing to protect the girls so… how about you can stay with us?"

Just then, the door opened before slamming shut again. "Hey, Tai!" Qrow called out.

"Hey, Qrow."

"You know how I keep saying we should get the girls a dog?"

Cole glared at Qrow but he either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Yeah?" Came the response. After a slight pause, Taiyang continued, "You got them one, didn't you." Qrow picked up the dog-sized beowolf and carried him to the other room. Cole didn't struggle because he could now see what Qrow was planning. "Then come see the new member of the family!"

Taiyang walked into the room, his sight obscured by a sweater he was pulling , which was currently over his head. "Well, lets see the little gu-"

Tai stared at the beowolf cub, who waved back. He glanced up at Qrow's perfectly straight face, then back to Cole. He fished a small bottle out of his jacket pocket and tried the cap. When it came off, he inspected the label. "Um… I think I somehow got drunk on the weakest liquor we have," he told Qrow. "I swear, it looks like you're trying to pass off a beowolf as a puppy." He squinted.

Finally, Qrow was unable to hold his poker face any longer. He broke down into laughter, dropping Cole, who, despite hitting the ground, made a sort of huffing noise **[***]** , before stopping and promptly making the best frown he could, having a bone mask. ' _Right, note to self, try not to laugh.'_

"You aren't drunk-I think. But yes, this is a beowolf. And there is a reason it hasn't gone feral on us or the kids."

"You let him near the kids?"

"Actually, he defended them. A beowolf got to close and Cole here delayed it until I could arrive."

Cole noticed Qrow didn't tell Taiyang _everything_ about what transpired.

"Plus, this little guy has a soul!"

Taiyang just looked at Qrow and raised an eyebrow. In response, Qrow took out his sword, and struck at Cole. He instinctively put an arm up to block the blow. Sure enough, on contact, a telltale flash of aura flared up. Tai raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one," he muttered. "So… what are we going to do with him?"

"I was serious about the pet thing… although he's a lot more intelligent than your average dog."

I grabbed Qrow's scroll from the ground and typed out, "Hello Tiayang!"

.

.

.

Thud.

As it turned out, despite having a soul, the features that came with being a grimm were included in the package. That encompassed the Grimm's lack for need of food, water, or sleep, as well as night vision to rival a faunus. While the adults went to bed, and the kids continued sleeping, Cole was wide awake. He had the feeling that if he tried, he could go to bed, but he figured now was as good a time as ever to work on something he should do as soon as possible. After (quietly) shuffling through the house a while, he found a notepad and a pen. Tearing off the first few pages, which had some miscellaneous writings on them, he wrote down _every single thing_ he could remember from cannon, from the details of the train to the name of Weiss's Butler. While he prided himself on good memory, he'd rather not forget any important details. After all, it would be years before Ruby even began Signal, if her size was anything to go buy.

As dawn approached, Cole finished up with everything he could remember. He figured it would be best if nobody saw the contents of his work, so he tore out the pages he wrote on and, after opening the door carefully and quietly, sneaked out to the shed, dug a small hole near one of the posts, and placed the carefully folded papers inside, sealed in a Lockzip **[ ;) ]** bag. He promptly refilled the hole.

He was back inside when morning came and before Qrow came out from the guest room. Qrow instinctively reached behind his back for his sword, upon seeing Cole, before remembering the past day's events. "You're an early riser too?"

Using the borrowed pen/pad, Cole responded, " _Nah. I'm a Grimm, and that comes with lack of hunger and need for sleep. Apparently."_

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You know, the grimmologists would have a field day with you."

He went to get breakfast.

' _I'd rather not…'_ Cole thought to himself.

Taiyang, Ruby, and Yang came down as a group, two of the three looking slightly bleary-eyed. Ruby, who had been sleeping most of the afternoon yesterday, was practically bursting with energy. Upon seeing Cole standing near the table (even on two legs, only reaching the table height), she quickly brandished a slightly dull red crayon from a pocket and yelled out, "Stay back wolfy! I'm a powerful huntress, and I'm gonna make sure you don't hurt my friends and family!"

' _Well, she began early,'_ Cole thought to himself. ' _A crayon's a start, I guess.'_

"Remember what I told you about getting a pet?" Qrow asked Ruby from the table.

"Yeeeeesss?"

"Well here you go."

Cole had no time to react before Ruby lunged off the stairs and tackled him to the floor in a hug. "We're gonna be best of friends! I'm gonna feed you, and teach you, and…"

Cole could do nothing but yelp and flail under the young huntress-to-be's assault. Qrow and Taiyang quickly rushed over and pried the young girl off the tiny beowolf.

"We have a Creature of Grimm as a pet?" Yang asked Qrow.

"Well, you see, this guy here is special. He actually has a soul."

"But… Grimm don't have souls…"

Cole held up his pen and pad and wrote out, " _And that's why I'm special!"_

"Uh…."

 **[Cut cause I don't know what else to write for that section]**

 **[*] Overused Simile? Check!**

 **[**] I'll let you decide the severity of that word.**

 **[***] Not quite sure how to describe it… To HTTYD fans, imagine Toothless laughing**

 **Hello peoples of the world! So, as you can see, I have made a RWBY story! And for once… Eh, the character knows what's happening?... Well, in my stories at least…**

 **Anyway, I'm going to avoid the OC cliches that I can (OP OC, Lady's guy OC)... ye**

 **Also, First OC ever (here)! Suggestions and critiques appreciated!**

 **Ok, so the next section will be called "A 'Growing Up WIth Ruby and Family' montage is the fastest way to skip to Volume 1"**

 **I have Ideas, but I'm open to suggestions! Fire away!**

 **Also, updates will be random... depending on when I have the chap ready**

 **Final note: I'm uploading this cause... well... that season finale tho. I won't spoil anything but... that Nuckelavee... i was not expecting the arm thingy. And the Sword thingy. I'm done now :P**

 **-dragoncraftertex**

 **(Also I obviously don't own anything)**


	2. A Montage is the Fastest Way (Pt 1)

**Oh hai there.**

 **So, I have made a montage for you peoples.**

 **Note that this will only be one of two montage chapters.**

 **Also… one or two sentences from me at the end of each mini-chap.**

 **(Technically, all the sentences are from me, but…)**

 **Oh, also, da reviews!**

 **I===I===I**

 **rocketmce: Here's… more… adorable… Grimm! I think you'll enjoy the fourth ficlet the most ;)**

 **DaToskin: Yes he does, good sir! I refer you to section #5**

 **Boyy2k: I had that exact same idea. XD Wasn't quite sure** _ **where**_ **to put it at first, but I have an idea… next chap tho, sorry :P**

 **Penguin full of Randomness: Thaaaanks! Hope ya stick around!**

 **Ultimate Kuuga: Thank uuuuu!**

 **Guest: Here ya go!**

 **Nopeite Nopeite Nope: here's MOOOAAAARRRR!**

 **ONTO THE STORY!**

 **I===I===I**

===== Chapter 2: A 'Growing Up With Ruby and Family' Montage is the Fastest Way to Skip to Volume One =====

(while still providing good content)

(Pt. 1 of 2)

(1) That Night: Going Nuts

As soon as the last of the last person went to bed (he still felt no sign of exhaustion), Cole allowed himself to ease out of the doorway into the yard and mentally ' _Squee!'_

Now, that was not something that he would normally do… ever. But hey, he just met Qrow and Taiyang… and not to mention Ruby and Yang! Granted, it wasn't exactly how he would've imagined it happening… granted, he never _would have_ imagined it… but due to the pressing need for dragon to make a fanfi- Er, because reasons, it had happened.

 _(2) Three Days Later: The Question_

"Ok, I have to ask," Taiyang started.

Cole looked at him curiously as he continued cleaning the tabletop.

"How do you know all this? How to use a scroll, what aura and semblances, or even what tables are? I mean, it's not like you grew up a human."

Cole couldn't help but to let out a small chuckle.

"No."

" _Yep,"_ he wrote. " _I was a human. I don't know_ what _happened to end me up as a creature of Grimm–probably why I'm not an emotional mess from losing a family_ **[*]** _-but hey… at least I can defend the world from the_ true _monsters." 'And your daughters.'_ Cole thought to himself.

He continued cleaning the table as Tai walked to the sofa and sat down heavily.

I===I===I

 **[*] More like I'm not good at writing touchy-feely stuff… also… Cliche "OC from Earth has memory loss": Ding!**

I===I===I

(3) _One Week After First Finding (AFF): Time to Train_

"Ok, you want to defend the world? You want to fight the rest of the Grim? Then get up and get outside, it's time for you to start training. ' _I knew it would come sooner or later. Now, lets see what Taiyang can do.'_

Cole knew he was about to get destroyed in the fight, but… hey. His first real battle in remnant.

When he exited into the clearing, he saw Yang already there and waiting, standing under a tree. "Are you ready?" Taiyang was standing in the center of the clearing. "I'm going to fight you in order to assess your skills, and to see what needs the most work." ' _Makes sense,'_ Cole wrote on his new scroll.

"Let's begin."

Cole handed his scroll off to Yang, then got into a starting stance. At this point, he had re-learned walking on two legs (which was fortunately quite easy).

Tai ran at the small Beowolf, and threw a slow punch. Cole dodged out of the way, then swiped at Taiyang, before hastily blocking a counterattack. The counterattack connected with Cole's arm, and he could immediately tell that Tai was holding back. ' _Still gonna do my best,'_ Cole thought to himself. Cole went in for an attack of his own, but his wide swipe left him open for an attack in preparation **[*]**. He was launched a couple feet back, but got up and raised his guard again. This time, he was more cautious with his attack, only going for an open-handed jab. After all, he did have claws. Unfortunately, Tai parried his attack before capitalizing on the opening it created. Cole tried to dodge, but couldn't quite get out of the way. He fell back, and

Taiyang stepped back. "That's good for now. Yang, you want to point out what he did wrong?"

"Well… " She replayed the fight in her head as Cole got up and dusted himself off. "He went for a wide swipe when he attacked you, which left him open…" "Good," "... and was a bit off-balance when he tried to dodge… and a sloppy block"

"Correct, yes. Still, you were wise enough to do it again. However, yes, your claws are built more for swiping, not stabbing, so **[**]** instead use short, tight swipes. Keep your stance a bit wider for more stability, and make sure you don't overextend, that makes it easy for you to fall off balance and it leaves you exposed."

Cole nodded and practiced a couple strikes at the air. Taiyang corrected his stance and attack, and then called Yang over. "Go ahead and take a quick breather," Tai told Cole.

Cole sat back and watched as Tai initiated a quick spar with Yang. Predictably, Yang lost, but she did much better than Cole did, and with Taiyang going after her harder. ' _Makes sense. She's likely been training longer than I have.'_

"Alright, both of you over here." Cole go up and walked over to where the two were standing to continue/begin his training.

I===I===I

 **[*] aka preemptive strike**

 **[**] If you know better, pls tell me. I know swords, not fists.**

 **Idk :P**

I===I===I

 _(4) 1 month AFF_

Cole skidded around the corner, ducking behind a door. He peeked behind him to see if his pursuers were still behind him, but quickly withdrew his head when he heard voices.

"Where did he go?"

"Over here maybe?"

Cole snuck sat down against the wall, and tried to keep his panting to a minimum. When the voices quieted, he poked his head out, and crawled out from his hiding place–just in time to be tackled from behind. He let out a yelp as he was forced to the ground.

"Gotcha!" yelled his captor. "I got him!"

The second person came and further restrained the slightly-larger-than-week1 beowolf. "Good… now… try my cookies!"

Ruby-for it was she who had brought him to the ground-tried to shove her fifth attempt at baking cookies into Cole's mouth.

Her previous attempt to bake cookies (first one while Cole was around) had managed to get him-a creature of grimm!-severely ill. He recovered, but the rest of the batch had been sent to grimmologists for testing.

Ruby was still experimenting with the recipe, trying to get them just right. But Cole did not want take part until she made her cookies _legendary._ Yang was helping Ruby hold Cole because otherwise… she would be taste taster, and she'd had enough of that the first few times. Eventually, Cole gave in and ate the cookie. Mission complete, Yang and Ruby got of the beowolf. He rolled over onto his back, and lay there for a couple seconds, then got up. Pulling out his scroll (which he always kept secure in a specially made pouch, ready to use), he typed, " _Actually, not bad. Not great, but not bad."_

"Yes!" Ruby cried out.

With the taste test's positive results, Yang felt safe enough to go retrieve a cookie and try it for herself.

I===I===I

 **So much yes…**

 **Even the greatest bakers (cookie or otherwise) have to learn and experiment… poor Cole…**

I===I===I

 _(5) Three Months AFF_

Cole had now grown significantly. Standing on two legs, he was the size of an average teen. The family chalked it up to grimm anatomy. But today was a special day. Why? He was going to the main town on Patch. It wasn't much, but it had everything to make sure the citizens of patch could survive without frequent trips to the mainland. Of course, Qrow and Taiyang would be accompanying him, and it was just a grocery run… but still. A beowolf in the frozen foods aisle would still cause panic, no matter how absurd it looked.

"We'll be back in a few hours!"

"Ok!" came the reply from the two girls, who were co-reading the latest editions of _Weapons_ magazine.

" _Should you really be letting them read that?"_ Cole asked when they closed the door.

"Well, they both obviously want to be huntresses," Qrow responded, "Better they start thinking about it and what they want to train with."

" _Five lien says Yang will use yellow shotgun gauntlets."_

"It's a deal!" Taiyang replied. "But we don't influence her decision in any way, right?"

"Yep. Let's do this."

I-I

They continued toward the main town. When they came within sight of the walls, the manned turrets targeted the group, but held their fire when the two humans did not move out of the way. "Care to explain why there's a beowolf following you?" a guard on the wall called out, pointing his gun.

"He's cool. And he's with us," Qrow called back. Cole waved at the guard. Said guard lowered his gun in surprise, before pulling out his scroll and talking into it. After a few moments, he pocketed the device , motioned to someone out of sight behind the wall, and the gate began to open. "Two trained hunters with weapons and just one… I expect you to eliminate the grimm the before it becomes a problem."

Cole pulled out his scroll and, maximizing font size, typed, " _Won't be a problem, sir!"_ The guard stiffened, then took off his helmet as Cole put away his scroll. Rubbing his eyes and looking back toward the group of three, he opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. After the group had passed, the soldier inspected, then wiped his visor on his uniform.

I-I

Cole saw, for the first time, the town of Patch. It was mostly empty, but Cole could easily see it being a busy, if small, town. The few pedestrians who were out and about froze, letting out short gasps when they saw Cole. They didn't panic, seeing the two well-known hunters flanking the grimm, but they kept a wary eye on them. Cole could sense their anxiety and fear. " _This… is quite frankly a better response than what I was expecting."_

"Well, us being here has something to do with it." Taiyang responded. "We are a bit well known here, being one of the few resident huntsmen."

" _Should I assume that Qrow is most well known at the bar?"_

"HEY!"

Taiyang couldn't help but to laugh out loud. Cole chuckled too, even as Qrow glared at the pair of them. "Let's just get to store," he grumbled.

I-I

A Creature of Grimm sorting through the fresh produce _did_ look quite absurd.

I-I

Taiyang opened the door and called out, "We're home!" The three shoppers set down the grocery bags on the table. "Look! Look!" Ruby cried out, dashing down the stairs. Yang followed her, holding a piece of paper.

"I know what weapon I want to use," Yang said. She held up the piece of paper, which had a pretty good drawing of what Cole could immediately identify as Ember Celica. "Shotgun gauntlets!"

Cole held out a paw, and ten lien made their way into it.

I===I===I

 ***Slow clap* Well played Cole… well played.**

 **Also, I doubt anyone else would have been let through escorting a beowolf… I'll deal with Vale later. I have an idea for that.**

I===I===I

(5.5?)

"You know, we really should learn Valean Sign Language," Qrow remarked. "It would make communicating at a distance more manageable."

Cole nodded. That _would_ be a good idea.

I===I===I

 ***shrugs* so ye. Just to make things a bit more convenient. Cole learns VSL. Y not.**

I===I===I

 _(6) Ten months AFF_

Cole was flipping through channels on the television when he felt extreme spikes of anger and worry/fear from outside. A bit worried himself, Cole dropped the remote and rushed out the door. It was immediately clear what caused the panic from Taiyang. Yang's hair was on fire, and he could see why. An overturned chair, snapped and charred ropes, and a mangled set of scissors lay in dirt. It was immediately obvious what was going on. Taiyang saw Cole leaning against the doorframe. There was a look of terror in Tai's eyes. 'Help!' he mouthed to Cole. But Cole knew better than to get in between an angry Yang and her target once the hair had been cut. " _Nope."_

Taiyang blanched as Yang charged.

I===I===I

… ***snickers* Poor Tai.**

I===I===I

 _(7) Exactly One Year AFF_

"Just in through here…" Yang said, guiding Cole in through the front door. She had covered his eyes, after Ruby took the groceries he had gone to get and brought them in. After a year, the guard and people of Patch had learned to recognize Cole, and he was able to go to town on his own without too much trouble.

Back to the present, Cole, with his beowolf nose, could smell the cake inside the house, and, with his faunus-like hearing, could hear the faint shuffling. He could guess…

"SUPRISE!"

Yang took her hands off Cole's eyes, revealing a cake with a single candle.

' _Uh…'_

"It's been exactly a year since we found you… or… you found us… whatever. So… cake!"

" _Did Ruby bake it?"_

"No."

" _Let's eat!"_

I===I===I

 **Ah, Ruby. You will master the art of baking someday…**

 **Anyway, the montage begins! Before you say Ruby didn't get enough screen… er… page time, don't worry: the next one will be more Ruby (and Yang) centric. I'm still open to ideas!**

 **For those of you worried that Cole is the "Perfect guy" OC, and has no character development… remember, this is a montage. That other stuff will come later.**

 **Also, a couple things I forgot to mention last chapter: I chose the name 'Cole' cause it fits both here** _ **and**_ **on Remnant. And, as I said earlier, I'm not good with the touchy-feely (or romance) stuff so… srry**

 **:P**

 **-Dragoncraftertex**


	3. A Montage is the Fastest Way (Pt 2)

**Heeeellllooooo peoples!**

 **Second Part of this montage! WOOOOOO!**

 **I know i've been watching too much RWBY when… well…**

 **I was playing minecraft, and raiding an ocean temple, when I suddenly realized I was referring to the Elder Guardians as 'Grimm'.**

" **Ugh, where's that last guy?... Uh, I got the two grimm down in the wings.. Is there a way to the third Grimm up in the att- waaait a second…"**

… **ye**

 **I=I=I**

 _ **GravityTonttu:**_ **Thanks! I kept the author's notes to a minimum between scenes… but I think I'll put them as footnotes this time. :P Do keep in mind though, I don't normally do mid-chap AN's. I just did it there cause montage.**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **Thanks! :D And to answer your question, one year AFF he's common enough to not be shot on sight. But to the point the people are fully comfortable around him… well, that happens this chap.**

 _ **Guest:**_ **Welp, here ya go!**

 _ **Lelouch of Zero: IKR! This is gonna be fun *evil face***_

 _ **TheNewbieSlayer: I bet you immediately regretted saying 'I don't care how long each chapter takes'**_

 _ **Turtlekier42: Thanks!**_

===== Chapter 3: A 'Growing Up With Ruby and Family' Montage is the Fastest Way to Skip to Volume One =====

(while still providing good content)

(Pt. 2 of 2)

I===I===I

 _(1) 1 year AFF_

Cole was known well enough in the town of Patch at this point to be able to go alone. But that didn't mean he was met with welcome arms. At least, by the human population. The Faunus, though they had been wary of him as well, began singing a different tune after the events of one day…

On his way to a local hardware store to pick up some items that Ruby and Yang had requested for building their weapons, Cole's Grimm senses alerted him to fear and anger coming from somewhere nearby. He immediately rushed over to the nearby alley where the negative emotions originated looking in, he immediately saw the cause. A young faunus was backed up against a wall, and two men were threatening her with knives. "Just give us the money, you filthy animal!"

' _Oh,_ hell _no.'_

Cole, now on all fours, approached the thieves slowly, letting loose a low growl. The two men snapped their heads towards him and froze. Cole walked closer one step at a time, hackles raised instinctively.

One of the thieves grabbed the faunus by the shoulders and shoved her towards the incoming Grimm, before taking off. His partner followed suite a moment later. They didn't get far though. Cole dashed around the faunus, who squeaked in fright when he got close, before flat out sprinting to catch the two men in under a second. The men weren't running particularly fast, and the beowolf body, on all fours, easily outmatched them in speed. His greater bulk was able to knock the two men down on the ground.

"Hey! What's going on- Oh ****, a grimm!"

Paws still on the terrified men, Cole looked behind him to see a police officer raising his gun at him, but the faunus grabbed his arm, interrupted him, and said, "Wait, not him! Those two guys!"

The officer, lowered his gun, but kept it out. "What?"

Cole moved away from the two men, who got up and brandished their knives- but then they saw the police.

One instantly dropped the knife and made a run for it. Cole quickly pinned him to the ground again.

This time, the Officer approached to help.

I===I===I

 _(2) Two Years AFF_

Cole leapt to the side faster than the average human could, putting him out of Crescent Rose's reach, as Ruby whizzed past him, the red scythe ready for a horizontal slash. When she came around for another slash, this time non-semblance enhanced, he braced himself and caught the blow on his armored forearms. For the purpose of not losing aura with each block, Cole had decided to equip himself with red-rimmed black metal gauntlets that extended to his elbow, but left his claws free for use. Naturally, they had to be specially made, but that wasn't too much of a problem, considering he was in the company of experienced hunters.

Cole shoved Ruby off balance, but she retaliated with a sniper round that got her far enough away to avoid his blow. Ruby planted the blade into the ground and fired repeated shots towards the beowolf. Cole dashed at her, on all fours for extra speed, occasionally raising an arm or sidestepping to deflect or dodge an incoming bullet. Normal Cole would never have been able to do this. Remnant beowolf aura-enhanced Cole had the supreme reaction time, speed, and strength necessary to fight like a hunter/huntress. When Cole began getting a bit too close, Ruby raised her scythe and prepared for close combat. Cole tried to get inside Ruby's reach, but even pre-Signal Ruby was a demon with that scythe. However, a combination of training with Tiayang and unique-to-beowolves flexibility allowed him to slip inside her guard, rendering the scythe more of a burden rather than a help. He managed to connect a few hard swipes before being met with a punch to the face.

In that instant, Cole regretted bribing Ruby into taking hand-to-hand with her father.

Granted, even if he hadn't used Zwei as 'payment', they probably would've gotten the small dog anyway. But hey, the promise of a puppy worked.

Ruby's fist, if without a lot of power behind it, landed directly on Cole's snout. Ruby followed up with a wide swipe with Crescent Rose, and Cole knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it. Ruby knew it also. So imagine her surprise when her blade passed straight through him, not giving any resistance whatsoever. Now-off balance, Ruby stumbled forward, and Cole used the opportunity-despite his surprise at his escape-to lunge toward Ruby. She tried to recover and block with Crescent's handle, but was not prepared enough to take the full force of the lunging Beowolf. Cole knocked away Ruby's weapon and pinned the young girl on the ground. "And, match!" Qrow called out. Cole backed off Ruby, and she got up, dusting herself off.

" _What happened?"_ Cole asked, peering towards Qrow. " _Crescent Rose went straight through me! But… I'm kinda not dead."_ Qrow, who was staring in Cole's direction, replied "I do believe you found your semblance…"

After much experimentation, they figured it out. He had the ability to make himself incorporeal. It was easy to tell when he was in this state, as he gained a… smoky look, like a dead Grimm in its first stages of disintegration. While he was, as far as they tested, virtually invincible in that state, he also could not hit back. While he _could_ make others incorporeal with him, it was tiring and required a lot of concentration, more than would typically be readily available in combat. And, fortunately despite his intangible state, he did not fall through the floor into the earth. Why? The only answer they could think of was… semblance logic. Still, a very useful combat semblance.

I===I===I

 _(3) Five years AFF_

Now, of course, there was an entrance exam to get into Signal Academy. It covered both academic knowledge and combat prowess, both being necessary to make an accomplished huntsman or huntress. And Ruby was confident that she would get in. Cole had no doubts that she would make it in. Himself, however, he wasn't sure about. Sure, he had studied, and sparred repeatedly with other members of the household, but… he was a grimm. A grimm applying for a spot in a school that trained people to kill grimm. Granted, he was stronger, faster, and overall far more dangerous than your average beowolf, but still… he was understandably nervous. He'd rather not end up on the wrong end of a katana-longbow or flamethrower-mace. Didn't sound like a fun time. He'd heard from Yang that the tests weren't too hard… as well as a lot of support that he and Ruby would crush the entrance exams. But Despite having lived in Remnant for five years, he'd never been to the city of Vale, where Signal and Beacon Academy were located.

Cole stared out the windows of the airship-mostly empty-as the landscape passed by beneath them. "Almost here, kiddos," Qrow called out to them. Cole and Ruby rushed over to exits. As soon as the airship (computer controlled) touched down, the doors opened, and Cole, Qrow, and Ruby walked down the gangplank. The airship docks, which were somewhat crowded despite the early hour, suddenly became silenced upon Cole's exit of the sheltered airship. Even as the automatic announcements rang out through the speakers, the small crowd who was waiting to board their ship (likely bound for some other destination) stared silently. Cole could feel the fear rolling off them as they slowly began backing away. He figured his reaction (or lack thereof) to Ruby and Qrow (whose weapon was extremely visible) was the only reason they had not outright panicked. Even so, they began backing away out to the nearest doors slowly, ready to sprint at the slightest aggressive movement. Cole rolled his eyes and turned to Ruby. " _Welp, plan B. I'd like to avoid using plan C until we're ready…"_

"Heh. I'm gonna enjoy this," Qrow noted, tossing Ruby a strip of fabric, covered in brightly-colored reflective tape, for high visibility. A leash.

"Come on, it's like… a disguise, or a costume! You'll be fine!" Ruby reassured Cole.

" _I don't wanna…"_

The crowd continued to look on, still cautious, but now with some curiosity. Ruby finished clipping the collar around Cole's neck (he was now on all fours) and he drooped his head before walking alongside Ruby as they exited the terminal.

Aside from the shocked, terrified, and surprised looks they got as they continued through Vale, and the large bubble of space that formed by the people heading around them, their trip to Signal Academy was uneventful.

When they arrived, the school was empty except for a few early birds. They had come early, first so that Cole could get inside without being shot fifty different ways on sight, and second, because Qrow was a teacher there. Of course he had to come early to receive new students. The second the front door slammed shut behind them, however, the telltale click of a weapon magazine being loaded sounded out and Cole barely had time to raise his arms to deflect a spear point headed straight for his head off his gauntlets.

"Whoa, calm down there, Rouge," Qrow said, blocking a second strike that Cole hadn't even seen coming.

"There is a _Creature of Grimm_ standing right there!" replied a woman holding a spear with a small rifle stock and magazine.

"Yeah. I called you about that, remember?"

She thought for a second, but kept her eye on me. "Oh yeah… I thought you were drunk!"

Her weapon folded up and she placed it on a magnetic strip on her belt. "You were serious about that? Bringing a _Grimm_ to learn at Signal? That's crazy, even for _you_ Qrow."

" _Assuming I pass the entrance exam, he's serious."_

The Rouge's eyes widened. "I… uh… what."

"You'll manage," Qrow reassured her, patting her shoulder.

The rest of the staff was notified that there was, in fact, a Grimm here for initiation, and that no, Qrow was not and had not been drunk. Most of the encounters began pretty much the same way the first did, but eventually word got around.

First initiation test: a test!

Cole and the other students first had to go through a written test, over regular school subjects such as History, writing, language arts, etc. Nothing too interesting. But then the real fun began. Combat testing!

Ruby was undeniably excited about combat classes. Why? "So many new weapons, and- OOH, look! Dagger-Pistols! And a war-axe-shotgun! SO many cool weapons!"

Cole snorted with amusement as he watched Ruby zipping around, surprising students and inspecting weapons. He reached out and snagged her hood as she ran by. " _Calm down, you'll get to see them in use soon enough."_

"But I just can't _wait!"_

Ruby's name rang out over the loudspeaker, calling her in for combat assessment.

" _Who said you had to wait?"_

"I'm going up, not someone else!"

" _Still."_

Ruby entered the room where the teachers were waiting.

When Cole entered the room, he took in the cage sitting at the opposite end of the room and the glass (likely dust-reinforced) wall separating him from the teachers. "Your task is to simply defeat your opponent however you deem necessary. However, minimal damage to school property is preferred."

Nodding, Cole, on two legs, turned to the cage. The electronic locks on the cage fell open, and a beowolf stalked out. Cole mentally shrugged. He could deal with a beowolf. The Grimm charged him and he waited before sidestepping and smacking the beowolf's head to the side with his gauntlet-reinforced claws. The sharp bone cut into the grimm's face, and the rest of the head snapped to the side. Cole's opponent wasn't quite out yet, but it was hurting. Like the mindless beast it was, it ignored its injury and charged yet again. This time, a simple smash into the ground was all it took to take out the beast, but Cole stabbed into its neck for certainty. He looked up from his kill to see the professors nodding and taking notes. "Thank you for your participation."

The door opened again, and Cole exited the room.

"So… how'd it go?" Ruby asked.

" _Pretty good… we still have PVP testing, right?"_

"Yeah… I can't wait!"

" _Then don-"_

"You already said that. And I'm still waiting."

Cole rolled his eyes. " _Come on."_

The selection for the PvP matches was randomized, much like the Vytal tournament (which was incredibly fun to watch). Except for Signal entrances, they were teams of three.

"I hope I get paired with you…" Ruby said, glancing to see if the match pairs were posted yet.

" _As a very punny woman once said…"_

" _Why_ did you get Yang a book of puns for her birthday again?"

" _You need to break out of your shell and_ interact."

"But I don't need to! I have you! And Yang!"

" _Do you now?"_

And with that, Cole activated his semblance and sunk into the floor.

"Hey! Wait! No!"

Ruby made a desperate grab at Cole, but her arms went straight through him.

"Cole nooooo!"

Cole was virtually blind while in the ground, but he made a guess, and came up in the hallway leading up to the room they were just in. Becoming solid once more, he peered in, watching as Ruby frantically spun around, seeking him, but failing to notice him looking in the ajar doorway. He watched as she sunk to the floor, defeated, then decided to come in and end her misery.

He shouldered open the door, padding on all fours to where Ruby had flopped to the ground.

" _You ok there?"_

"Why did you leave meeeee?"

" _Your sparring groups are now listed!"_ The speakers announced. Cole and Ruby moved over to one of the many screens around the room.

"Yay, we're together!" Ruby crowed tackle hugging Cole.

Cole rolled his eyes but grinned nonetheless.

Cole and Ruby found the third person in their battle alliance just outside the arena, ready for battle. "... and it looks like I got paired with the Grimm… wow, never thought I'd ever say those words. Well, good luck out there guys!"

Their partner finished wishing his friends luck, the turned and noticed them. "Oh, hi there!" he said. "I'm Ash. Good at mid-range," he showed off his grey assault rifle, "and I've got a sword." His rifle expanded into a shield, and the stock popped out to reveal a short sword, which had been sheathed just inside the outer metal of the barrel.

"I'm Ruby… so, I have this." In one (mostly) smooth movement, she grabbed Crescent Rose and opened it up, and digging the tip into the ground. Ash whistled appreciatively, admiring the oversized sniper/scythe. "Niiice. Long range, I assume?"

" _Yep. No fancy guns for me, just these."_ He pointed at his gauntlets.

"Uh… is that VSL? Sorry, but I only know a few words."

Cole turned to Ruby.

"It is a sniper, his name is Cole, and he only has those big metal gloves."

"Ah. Close combat I assume?"

Cole nodded. The speakers crackled for a moment, then " _Please queue up for match number 15!"_

"That's us," Ash said.

When they entered the sparring arena, it was just a standard arena, nothing special.

The teachers sat in benches surrounding the combat zone. Their opponents entered at the same time from the opposite direction, and they all stepped into the combat zone at the same time.

"Remember," one of the teachers called out, "You will be graded on performance, not on win or loss."

"Weapons ready…"

' _En guarde!'_

"and… begin!"

They had already discussed their strategy.

Ruby dashed to Cole, before vaulting onto his back. With that, he charged at their foes, galloping on all fours. As they approached, Ruby fired, with Crescent Rose in its folded sniper mode, at their enemies, who wielded a variety of melee weapons and shields to block her bullets.

As soon as she got within range, Ruby shifted to the scythe and used Cole's momentum to add to her swing's power. The scythe's size and reach made it adept at calvary-style combat, especially when paired with a beowolf's natural agility. Most wild beowolves simply did not take advantage of this, but Cole learned early on that he could move and dodge in ways no human could, even without his semblance. And while Ruby's semblance brought her up to speeds even he could not match, she lacked control at those extreme velocities. Cole was able to go fairly quickly, and still maintain relatively acute control.

The first enemy dodged out of the way, and retaliated with a burst of fire from his SMG. Cole reared up and blocked the bullets off his gauntlets. While SMG was distracted, a three-burst of fire dust hit him in the side. Ash advanced, taking shots at the three distracted enemies. Someone else, wielding a katana-bow, disengaged from Cole and Ruby. He dashed forward, before disappearing from view. "This guy can turn invisible!" Ash yelled.

Cole switched to melee, and widened his stance, ready to defend. Closing his eyes, he began humming, unmoving. Suddenly, he spun raised his shield, and a metallic clang rang out. Without opening his eyes, he continued to fight his invisible opponent, able to see the strikes coming with surprising accuracy. Finally, he shield bashed the katana wielder, and he flickered back into the visible spectrum. Ducking under a swipe, katana leapt back, grabbed an arrow from his quiver, then gripped the blade of his katana with an armored hand. He drew back, sighted, and released the arrow in the space of a second. Ash deflected the arrow, instead of blocking it. Turned out to be a good thing, as it was laced with gravity dust. Blocking head-on would've been difficult.

Cole saw the incoming arrow as he and Ruby continued to calvary the two remaining enemies. With all their practice, Ruby was adept at taking Cole's unexpected movements in stride, so he lunged at the enemy wielding a simple mace. Snagging his armor with a claw, Cole heaved the boy at the incoming arrow. The extra velocity from gravity dust made the arrow hit much harder. Mace was out. At the same time, a particularly heavy blow from Ruby's scythe knocked SMG into the red. The two buzzers sounded almost simultaneously. A couple moments later, a third buzzer sounded. "Ash is down," Ruby told Cole. She leapt off Cole's back and semblance-rushed the katana-wielder. She held Crescent Rose horizontally, but the katana-wielder had enough time to bring up his sword to block the blow. He managed to catch Cole's swipe with the blade, but that left him open to a kick from Ruby. Katana leapt back, suddenly blinking out of the visible spectrum.

"Eep!" Ruby was suddenly hit by a heavy swing to the side, and her Aura level fell into the red.

' _Ruby's out._ '

Cole activated his semblance, but held still, glancing side to side. His wolf ears twitched. He heard a _swish_ and an involuntary "huh?'.

Reacting instantly, Cole solidified and swung in the direction of the utterance. His paw made contact with something he couldn't see. "Oof!"

The final buzzer blared. The match was over.

I===I===I

 _(4) Five years AFF_

"And so then I was like, 'hayaaa! Fear me!' And hit him really hard in the head!" Ruby continued to ramble about the fight long after the match ended.

" _A little girl wielding a scythe bigger than she is while riding a semi-armored beowolf would terrify anyone,"_

We were currently waiting for Qrow to finish up with his teacher-ly duties before we went back home. "And that's why it's so _awesome!"_ Ruby replied. "And then—"

"Hey, you pile of schist!"

 **Language!**

"Schist is a metamorphic rock, remember? Why else would you write that?"

 **Eh… opportunity for comedic fourth wall break?**

 _ **Take two!**_

"... pile of schist!"

Cole and Ruby turned to the newcomers. Three teens were stalking towards them, glaring all the while. One of them looked familiar…

"What do you want?" Ruby demanded.

The boys shoved roughly past her, and Cole growled softly at them.

One of the boys reached out quickly and grabbed a clump of Cole's fur. "Do you know _why_ I applied to this school to be a hunter? So I could kill Grimm like you. My brother was killed by the Grimm, because one of those _animals_ -" he glared at a nearby unaware faunus. "Stopped too early. Because of those beasts… and the Grimm… Cardin Winchester doesn't have a brother anymore!"

Now Cole recognized him. Cardin Winchester, most well-known bully in Beacon… or second year Signal, it would seem. It had been over five years since Cole had seen his face…

Cardin cocked back his fist, but Cole turned incorporeal, leapt through Cardin, and turned around before slamming Cardin into the ground.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

"Thi-this Grimm! It just _attacked_ me!"

Cardin called out.

Only problem: it was Qrow demanding the explanation.

Cole backed off of Cardin as Qrow approached.

Cardin moved to sit up, but was suddenly faced by Qrow. "Aside from the fact that there are cameras all over the school, I would've thought a _third-year_ student would be able to take down a _single_ rampant beowolf."

Even Ruby couldn't help but to snicker.

I===I===I

 _(5) Years AFF, since I had no ideas for Signal. That's what caused the wait._

… _Srry._

These were the conditions Cole had been waiting for for six years. The attack on the Schnee train was reported on the News. Roman Torchwick was in Vale, and was looting dust shops. Yang announced she was applying for Beacon a while ago, and Ruby, with her new set of custom, red, rose-decorated headphones that had arrived in the mail (she'd only used standard ones before), decided she was going to go to Vale, because she wanted to check out the newest edition of 'Weapons' magazine.

Cole's head snapped up, and he quickly said, " _I'll come with."_

"Huh?" Yang asked, "You're not usually eager to go to Vale, what with… ya know…" She gestured in his general direction. What's with the sudden change of mind?"

" _Let's just say conditions are favorable,"_ Cole replied.

"What's that supposed to—"

But Cole was already gone, phasing through the wall, and dashing to where the shed still stood. He dug in the corner by the post. Nothing.

He quickly shifted to the next post over, and pulled out his notes. Sealed in their (relatively) airtight, watertight underground storage, they were no worse for wear. He quickly pulled out the first few pages, and studied his notes. He was there for an hour, reading and re-reading his notes over and over.

"So, uh, you coming Cole?" Ruby called out from the door to the house.

Cole re-packaged his notes and sprinted to where Ruby was waiting. " _Ready,"_ Cole signed.

The trip to 'Dust till Dawn' was uneventful, and Cole had gotten used to the stares and others' near-overwhelming fear long ago. Despite coming almost daily during the school year(s) and the newspapers headlined ' _Tame Grimm in Vale!'_ , the city was a large place, and. Ew people saw him almost all the time.

When they reached the shop, Ruby made a beeline toward the magazine rack. He waited… and waited… and Waited until…

"Do you know how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?"

Bingo. Cole stealthily slipped through the shelf as the hired hand came around the corner and threatened Ruby. Naturally, it didn't end well for him.

"Uh, Cole?"

He tapped her shoulder and ducked to avoid a jab with the butt of the oversized scythe.

"Oops! Sorry!" Ruby apologized. "And, uh, what?"

She pointed to the other thugs coming around the corner

" _Torchwick."_ Cole responded before lunging at the thugs. He bowled over one and knocked the other two to the floor, unconscious. Ruby sped past him and launched the last one through the window, ending with a fancy spin. The few remaining thugs attacked, to little effect. "Truly… you were worth every–oof!"

Cole tackled Roman while he was distracted, but the criminal whipped his cane around, and forced Cole to raise an arm to defend himself. Roman took the opportunity to heave the beowolf off him. Cole's claws dug up the pavement as he stopped himself.

"Sorry, _what?_ A beowolf?" Torchwick shook his head. "What Signal will do for students these days… Well, this day can't get weirder."

' _Huh. Less flair than cannon. I guess he didn't want to take on two of us…'_

Cole shoved Ruby to the side and turned incorporeal to avoid the upcoming explosion. When the smoke cleared, Torchwick was gone, but Cole instantly spotted him climbing the ladder on a nearby building. "You ok if I go after him?" Ruby asked the shopkeeper. Cole crouched, and leapt straight up to the building, but Torchwick had a large head start and managed to reach the opposite end of the roof. Cole hears a thud from behind him as Ruby also landed on the roof ready. His sensitive ears picked up the whine of a bullhead starting up.

"Persistent, aren't you." Roman growled. "No matter. I've got a ride."

The bullhead rose up in front of them, and Torchwick entered it, tossing a red dust crystal behind him, but. Cole was ready. He leapt again, and batted the crystal back the way it came. Roman cursed and adjusted his aim, but the explosive flare was blocked by one Glynda Goodwitch, right on time. Cole and Ruby mostly hung back as Glynda continued to battle the half-maiden and bullhead. When it finally flew away, she turned to find an ecstatic Ruby and an amused Beowolf.

"Ooh, are you a huntress? Can I have your autograph?"

Cole zoned out as Glynda continued to rant. He knew exactly what she was going to say… in regards to Ruby at least. The door creaked open, and Cole snapped back to what was going on.

"Ruby Rose… you have silver eyes…" Ozpin handed her the plate of cookies, which she quickly began to devour them, but Cole managed to snag one. Just because he didn't need to eat didn't mean he didn't want to at times.

"And you… Cole—"

" _We learned to fight at Signal Academy, we're applying for Beacon when we finish Signal, and we were taught specifically Qrow Branwen for Ruby, and Taiyang Xiao Long for me, and I'm sure Ruby would be happy to accept your offer!"_

"Eh, what?" Ruby asked. "What offer?"

Ozpin merely raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I would like to extend the offer to you as well… but I have a feeling you plan to accept."

Cole nodded.

"Eh, still confused…" Ruby added.

"Tell me," Ozpin turned back to Ruby, "Do you know who I am?"

"Headmaster Ozpin from Beacon Academy," Ruby replied.

"Would you like to go to my school."

"More than—" Ruby froze. "Waaaait a second!"

Ruby spun to look at Cole "How did you know he was going to ask that?"

Cole merely winked and sat back in the chair.

"Cole? How did you know?"

Cole glanced toward Ruby.

It was at that moment that Cole knew… he ****ed up.

Ruby had unleashed the deadliest weapon in her arsenal… her puppy dog eyes.

Cole would like to say he'd built up an immunity.

That he could resist the awesome power of the deadliest weapon known to man.

Nope.

Fortunately for this fic, Taiyang chose that exact moment to come in the door and grab the two teens behind the table.

"Hi, Dad…" Ruby said.

"What were you thinking? Taking on Roman Torchwick himself?"

"And they performed admirably," Ozpin interjected.

"Yeah, but they're still learning!"

" _Speaking of learning…"_ Cole added, grabbing Tai's attention, " _It turns out fighting high-profile criminals gave us a ride to Beacon… 2 years early."_

Taiyang turned to Ozpin.

"Seriously?"

The headmaster nodded. "I will make the necessary paperwork available to you shortly."

"Of course… but good job guys!"

Joy.

I===I===I

 _ **Section-Specific ANs**_

 **I initially planned to have Qrow accompany Cole, but decided a known hunter would scare off the criminals too early, so I decided Ruby, but then… IDK. I just stuck to Solo Cole.**

 **Semblance!**

 **I'll be honest… I'm not satisfied with the PVP section of the section (for (hopefully) obvious reasons) (sectionception!)**

 **Cardin… nuff said**

 **I had literally no other ideas for Signal, which… well, caused part of the LOOONG delay. So, Torchwick! We enter cannon!**

 **I===I===I**

 **Riiight… Sorry for the delay… I was busy with FIRST Robotics, school, a couple of cases of (minor) writer's block, and a plot bunny (for later in the story) that refused to go away till I wrote it down. Also… yeah, section 3. Definitely worst one so far. We also will not be seeing Ash again. He was a... failed test, lets say…**

…

 **Ye.**

— **Dragoncraftertex**


	4. Missing Before Action

**So, I've been thinking… what last name should I give Cole? He's pretty much adopted into the family, so… Cole Xiao Long? Cole Rose? Cole Branwen? IDK :P**

 **Reviews!**

 **I===I===I**

 _ **Dinosaurchicken:**_ **And here's another one so soon!**

 _ **DaToskin**_ **: Pfft, I just imagined that too! And Cardin… yeah, he's just Cardin. Also, that's not the last of the Grimm Calvary!... not this chap tho. Percussion head maintenance… hmm…**

 _ **TheNewbieSlayer:**_ **Keep joking about days and** _ **maaaybe**_ **I'll update then ;)**

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga:**_ **Yep. Anywhere and Always**

 _ **SalinorTheDrake:**_ **Thanks! Glad you're interested! And you want moar…? IMMA FIRING MY (MOAR)LAZOR! *Much light and explosions***

 _ **Guest:**_ **Thanks! Have some. MOAR!**

 _ **Guestman:**_ **Here ya go! Reactions galore! (Except for two… Nora steed comes later, you'll figure out the other pretty quickly…)**

 _ **Turtlekier42:**_ **Yes it will be fun… especially for me to give you evil cliffhangers and toy with your emotions! Muah ha ha!... did I say that last part out loud…? I meant toy with em in a good way… like, humor… :D**

===== Chapter 4: Missing Before Action=====

Even as Yang and Ruby were messing around, waiting for the airship to Beacon to arrive, Cole was busy looking for future team members. At the moment, only Blake had arrived, but aside from a startled glance his way, she had not payed their group much mind, instead preferring to dive back into her current book.

Eventually, the rest of the known cast appeared—Pyrrha quite obviously, due to sudden rise in activity caused by her presence-but… there was someone missing.

Well, Weiss could be excused. This early on, she likely won't want to ride with the 'commoners on their overcrowded ships.' Or something. But… shouldn't Jaune have been taking this airship…? Being fashionably late one, wasn't his style, and two, wouldn't do much good if the airship left the port.

Although he kept an eye out… no Jaune. ' _Did I scare him into taking a different airship?'_ Cole wondered. ' _Well… I guess my mere presence would cause dissimilarities.. ah well."_

When the airship arrived at the Beacon Academy airdocks, he couldn't help but gape at the sight of Beacon Academy, standing tall in all its glory and splendor.

' _And I'll make sure it stays as if is,'_ Cole thought to himself. ' _Well… wreck everything with fighting and explosions, but… nothing permanent.'_

"... actually myfriendsareheregottagobye!"

Yang took off, and Cole, caught by surprise, was knocked backwards with a yelp. He shifted density quickly enough that he avoided messing up Weiss's luggage, but Ruby was not as quick under pressure.

With a clatter, numerous cases of dust toppled to the ground. ' _Dust damn it…'_ …pun not intended.

No, seriously.

"What are you _doing?"_

Annnd there she was. She had somehow missed Cole, her razor-focus on the immediate contributor to the entropy of the universe.

… **sorry, physics stuff.**

Ruby sat up from the pile of suitcases. "Wha… I'm sorry!"

" _Sorry?"_ Weiss shrieked. "Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused?"

At this point, Cole stepped in. Holding up his scroll, he growled lowly at the heiress, she reached for her sword… which wasn't there. Knowing that she was… not the best in hand-to-hand/Grimm, she merely scowled, reading his message.

" _Kinda hard to know what damage is possible in_ unmarked _cases that were quite exposed, despite what I'm guessing are violated contents."_

Weiss made no response to Cole as she checked the contents of one of the cases. "Dust! Nature's wrath in a crystalline form, but highly unstable! You could have killed us all, you dunce!"

"I said I was _sorry,_ princess!"

"It's heiress, actually."

' _Enter Blake, Stage Left'_

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the world's largest dust supplier." The faunus-in-hiding continued.

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss replied haughtily.

"... the _same_ company known for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

"Wha–? You–! Ugh!"

Weiss stalked off, leaving the present butlers to clean up the mess.

Cole turned to thank Blake… but she was already walking away.

"I'll make it up to you somehow!" Ruby called to Blake. Then she collapsed on the ground again. Cole looked around, but… still no Jaune… there were no more incoming airships… that's weird…

When Cole and Ruby barely made it in to hear Ozpin's… less than inspiring speech, Cole was starting to get frantic. If what he he thought had happened had happened… the entire timeline would be thrown askew.

Throughout the speech, though he looked constantly, no Jaune.

Weiss's sarcastic comments subjected someone else, who paid them no mind.

Juane made no attempt to flirt with the already-dubbed 'Ice Queen'

After the speech, Cole made his way into the classroom areas, hoping to find a teacher. He didn't make it, however.

"I'm afraid that you are not allowed to enter the classroom wing right now, students have been directed to the ballroom."

He turned to find a stern-looking Glynda facing him. ' _Ah, good,'_ Cole thought, ' _She might be able to answer my question.'_

" _Excuse me, but do you happen to know where Juane Arc is?"_

Glynda frowned. "I'm sorry, but I do not believe a Juane Arc comes to Beacon."

" _First year? Blond hair? Sword and shield? Nothing inherently ranged?"_

Glynda shook her head. "Nobody of that description attends this academy."

"Hey, you ok there Cole?" Yang asked, walking up to the near-hyperventilating beowolf that had entered the ballroom.

No response.

"Cole, you look like you're about to have a nervous breakdown. Seriously, what's wrong?"

Finally taking notice, the beowolf glanced to a worried Yang.

" _I wish I could tell you, but the results could be disastrous."_

"Huh?"

" _Oh hi Ruby."_

"So… what's going on?"

" _Nothing_."

Yang wasn't convinced, but decided to let the matter go… for now.

"Soooo, how was your first day at Beacon?" Yang asked, turning to Ruby.

"Ugh, it was terrible! I didn't make any friends! At all! And I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and she yelled at me!"

"It's ok if you didn't make friends yet! There's still time in the day! We'll make sure you get plus one friend!"

I'm pretty sure that counts as negative one friend…"

"Come on, there are no such things as negative friends!"

" _There's still time to burn! How about we introduce you to someone else!"_

Yang turned to Ruby. "Who else do you know here?"

" _Well, there's always Blake."_

"Who?" The sisters asked Cole.

He gestured to where the girl sat against a wall, engrossed in her book.

"That girl…" Ruby murmured.

"You know her?" Yang asked the other two.

" _No, but she redirected some of Ice Queen's wrath away from Ruby."_

"Really? Well, she's a good enough person for me then! Come on!"

Yang grabbed Ruby and began dragging her over to where Blake sat.

" _Ack!_ No! Stahp!"

"Helloo, Blake!"

"Huh?" Looking up from her book, the girl in question peered at the trio. "How did you know my name?"

"He told me," Yang replied, pointing at Cole.

Blake turned to look at the beowolf. Cole could feel the suspicion (and the normal (if slight) sense of dread that came from everyone facing the beowolf) wafting off her.

"And how do _you_ know my name? I never told it to you."

The three girls present looked to Cole for an explanation.

Cole signed (and Yang translated for Blake), "The same way I know about…"

He bowed down his head slightly, twitched his ears a few times, quite an obvious hint, and winked at Blake. The faunus's eyes narrowed, but she made no other outward reaction. She could not hide her increased suspicion and anxiety from Cole's unique senses, however.

After a moment of tense silence, Yang spoke. "Riight… anyway, Ruby? Come here and introduce yourself!"

Ruby cautiously approached. "Uh, hi…"

"Aren't you the girl who tripped over Schnee's luggage?"

"Uh… yeah… I'm Ruby… nice to meet you." Ruby extended a hand, but Blake didn't take it.

Awkward silence ensued.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Yang hissed to Ruby.

"I don't know help me!" Came the quiet reply.

"So… nice night, huh?"

"Yes… it's lovely… almost as lovely as this book."

Pause.

"... that I will continue reading."

…

"…when you leave."

Pause.

"Yep, she's a lost cause."

Yang began turning away, but, right on schedule, "What's it about?"

Cole already knew. He knew what was _about_ to happen too, and decided that his intervention was no longer necessary. Plus, if you didn't have even an idea about what would happen within the next minute canonically, stop reading this fic and go watch volume one.

I===I===I

Cole made his way to the second level balcony of the ballroom, as he would not be sleeping that night. He could if he wanted to, just to pass time… but he didn't need to, and anyway, he needed to adjust his plans for the newest development.

His musings were interrupted when a voice called out to him.

"How? How did you know?"

Blake had come to talk.

" _Well, aside from the twitching of your bow and the strong 'cat' smell wafting off you, the fact that you were a prominent, front-line figure of the White Fang—"_ Blake's eyes widened, and panic radiated from her. "— _kinda gave it away."_

Blake's eyes darted around, looking for unwelcome listeners.

" _Please_ don't tell anyone! _Anyone_!" She hissed.

" _Wasn't planning on it."_

Blake narrowed her eyes, still tense and ready to bolt.

"Why? If you were able to recognize me, surely you know what I've done under the new Fang."

' _Because you are the main character in a fictional world I intend to save.'_ Probably best _not_ to say that out loud.

" _Because I've faced my fair share of discrimination… from humans_ and _Faunus. Should be obvious why."_ Truth _. "I know why you hide your ears. Not cause you're ashamed of your heritage, but cause you want people to see you as 'Blake' and not 'The Faunus.'"_

Blake had calmed down at this point. "So… you won't tell?"

" _Nope_."

"..."

The door closed behind Blake as she re-entered the ballroom.

After a moment of silence, Cole returned to his task of re-planning the survival of Beacon Academy.

…

And mourning the Arkos Ship.

I===I===I

"Ooooh, cool!"

Cole sat up from his spot on the floor to see Nora bending down to stare at him… mere inches from his face.

"Helloooo!"

Cole yelped and scooted back, away from the hammer-wielder.

"Nora? What are you…" Ren trailed off as he noticed the subject of Nora's interest.

" _Hi? Can you understand me?"_ Cole signed. Yang and Ruby weren't up yet.

Nora slid up to Ren.

"Renny? What'd he say?" She stage-whispered to him.

"...He said hi."

"Hello! Are you a robot? Cause Grimm are for smashing, but you're friendly!"

"Nora, you can't just constantly accuse people… or friendly Grimm… of being robots."

"Who said robot? Where? Robots are cool…" A very groggy Ruby sat up from where she lay.

" _Nothing, don't worry about it."_ Cole assured her.

"... fine… but cool robots…"

I===I===I

Yang passed Cole as he began towards the lockers, and grabbed him by the back of his neck. ' _Wha—?'_

"You're coming with me. I need to know what you were so worried about yesterday."

Despite Cole's attempts to stay behind–flailing, digging his claws into the ground–the blonde brawler was able to drag him to the dining hall. **[*]**

Dropping Cole on a bench, with orders for him to stay there, Yang went to get breakfast. Cole moved to leave, but a red-eyed glare from Yang held him down.

The hall was devoid of all but first-year students, the first couple days of the school year being a day off for second through fourth years, due to initiation. Cole largely ignored their stares, although his ears twitched in response to his anxiety.

Yang plopped down in front of him, plate loaded. "Talk."

" _What?"_

"What's got you so worried."

" _Don't worry about it."_

"What? No! As older sister, I need to know what's got you worked up."

" _Well, i'm adopted, so—"_

"Even so! So, what's the problem?"

Cole wasn't getting away untill Yang was satisfied.

Partial truths. But first, evasive action.

" _Since when have you been this interested in my stuff like this? Normally you leave me to my own devices."_

"Because it's just before initiation, and you looked like you were about to have a panic attack yesterday. Not a good combination!"

" _Fine…"_

Yang awaited an answer eagerly.

" _Wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey, stuff. Correct technical phrase, by the way. My presence changed something that could be integral to the timelines and six-year-in-the-making plans. Plus any Arkos plans have just been shoved down the quantum drain."_

"...You know what? I think you're okay."

Cole internally smirked. Evasion tactics and sci-fi jargon tended to work on dissuading Yang interrogations for a while.

…

Or so he thought.

In actuality, it was more along the lines of: when Yang saw that he was joking around, making references to a show she'd never heard of, and generally no longer overly worried about last night's problem, whatever it was, she was satisfied enough to let him go.

I===I===I

Cole slid on his gauntlets and tightened the straps until they were nice and snug. After a couple of test swipes, he nodded to himself, satisfied with their firmness.

And yes, here came the next item in his pre-initiation list…

"... Given much thought to who you want on your team?"

' _There's Weiss…'_

"Well, I was planning on just letting the chips fall where they may."

"I was thinking, maybe we could be on a team together?" Weiss blatantly hinted.

"That would be grand!" Pyrrha replied with faked enthusiasm, Cole could tell.

If one looked closely, they could almost see the dark thundercloud of Weiss's ambitious thoughts.

" _Say… you look familiar…"_

"Wha—"

Cole raised his arms and blocked a stab from Pyrrha.

Upon seeing the spear skate off the gauntlet, Pyrrha realized her mistake.

"Oh… I'm sorry!"

Now reasonably sure he was safe from the wrong end of a weapon, he lowered his arms and repeated his previous statement.

"I must apologize, but I do not know VSL."

Cole brought out his scroll.

" _You look familiar… but from where?"_

Weiss snapped out of her megalomaniatic stupor upon hearing the question. "Do you _really_ have no idea who you're talking to?"

" _Would I be asking if I knew?"_ Granted, Cole knew exactly who she was, but…

Weiss huffed. "This is Pyrrha Nikos!"

" _Oh, that's right!"_

Pyrrha's hope of a clean slate faded.

" _I saw a newspaper headline that said you were coming here… but what did you do to get all the attention?"_

Pyrrha's sliver of hope returned. But Weiss was not satisfied.

"... You don't know…? You _don't…_ "

Throwing her hands in the air, Weiss turned and left.

After a minute of silence, Pyrrha asked, "So… you're a Grimm?"

" _Yeah. Gets all sorts of attention… not all of it good."_

Cole reconsidered.

" _Well,_ hardly _any of it good. But, makes sense."_

"The pains of fame… everyone either regards you as being on a pedestal too high to reach or an enemy to be defeated, just to say you could win.

Before Cole could respond, an announcement blared over the speakers.

"Will all first-year students please report to Beacon cliffs!"

" _I guess that's our cue to go!"_

I===I===I

Salem growled in frustration. That sort of utterance was not one she made often, and certainly not with her followers present. But alone, aside from a seer Grimm, she allowed herself the luxury of voicing her displeasure.

The source of her annoyance? A rogue beowolf. Cinder Fall had reported the human-aiding Grimm some time back, but Salem had initially disbelieved her. _All_ her Grimm were loyal to death! However, when other sources reported Vale's hesitant… _tolerance…_ of a beowolf, Salem began looking.

Now that she knew what she was looking for, it popped out to her from her personal Seer's present (if weak) connection to every Grimm.

But, despite her efforts, she could not break through it's infuriating _aura_ and take direct control! She needed to find a weak link, or a moment of depleted aura, in order to gain control of the rogue Grimm.

"What units do we have available in the… _emerald forest_?" Salem asked her Seer.

After a moment, the jellyfish-esque creature responded in its unique language. After contemplating for a moment, she made a decision.

"Connect me with the _skorpios."_

I===I

Inside its weak stone prison within the Emerald Forest, the hibernating deathstalker—meant to be roused by a now-absent Juane Arc—awoke, summoned by the highest levels of Grimm hierarchy. Back in her palace, the Grimm queen gave the Deathstalker two things: a task… and _intelligence_. The task? To bring Beacon's beowolf to zero aura, that Salem may seize control and wield what would likely be her greatest single weapon against humanity… A Grimm with _aura._ It's secondary task was to destroy any humans blocking its primary task, but if it must choose, to for the rogue.

As for its newfound intelligence? Salem typically left the Grimm to their own devices, to learn and grow on their own. But once in a long while, she would speed up the process, giving the Grimm decades worth of knowledge—accumulated by herself and other Grimm—in but an hour, although the transfer was costly, causing a line of semi-intelligent Goliaths kneel over dead, as well as making Salem herself feeling weak and vulnerable. And she _hated_ that feeling. But the Grimm was ready to complete its task.

This year's Beacon initiation would be… _interesting,_ to say the least.

I===I===I

 **[*] Even the most veteran warriors can forget they have special abilities *cough*sembalance*cough* when they are panicking and/or are on the reflecting end of Yang Xiao Long's rage.**

 **Aaand that's a wrap folks!**

 **Cole made it to Beacon, Salem has gotten involved, things are straying from the original timeline left and right, and of course…**

 _ **Juane is missing**_ **.**

 **#RIPArkos**

 **To those concerned Cole is a Grimm is not playing a large part… yeah, I noticed that too… not quite sure what to do about it early chapters, but now that he's in Beacon with characters that I know (better), and he'll be more involved with Grimmy activities! Therefore more hostile for him! Therefore… ye.**

… **OMAKE TIME!**

I===I===I

 _Training with Qrow_

It was Cole's first time training with Qrow, since Taiyang was the more hand-to-hand combat person, but Qrow had volunteered to let Tai take the day off.

So that left Cole going through his basic stretches and warmups while Qrow looked on.

When he was finished, Cole asked, " _So, what's on the agenda for today?"_

In the moment that Cole was distracted tightening his gauntlets on his arm, he was suddenly hit in the head. ' _Wha—ow!'_

He looked up in time to receive a wrench to the face.

" _How does throwing wrenches at me help?"_

Qrow smirked. "Simple. You can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a claw. Or a stinger. Or crossbow—"

He threw the wrench mid-sentence, catching Cole off-guard.

"Also, your enemy is gonna try to surprise you. So be ready!"

Cole glared at the straight faced huntsman, but had a distinct feeling—just gut instinct, not Grimm senses—that the man standing in front of him was trying to not laugh.

Cole was so busy glaring at his teacher that missed the gardening supplies lobbed at him from the second floor of their house.

' _... are you serious?'_

Yang waved from the second floor, more gardening tools in hand ready to be thrown.

This was going to be a looong day for training.


	5. Skorpios Suckios

**Heeeeeelllllllooooooo!**

 **Nothing much to say here, aside from reviews. Excuses at the bottom tho.**

 **Edit: Fixed a ton of mistakes that slipped by earlier. Dammit, ADD+Autocorrect**

 **I===I**

 _ **Loldino:**_ … **Pfft! That's amazing XD**

 _ **Ultimate Kuuga**_ **: *dabs eye w/handkerchief* goodbye Arkos ship…**

 _ **DaToskin**_ **: 1) Juane explanation next chap. 2) soon… soon… 3) Next chap (team thing)**

 _ **Dinosaurchicken:**_ **Renora will triumph!**

 _ **The Headless Chicken:**_ **There are a few out there, but the only one of this nature I know of is a crossover**

 _ **SalinorTheDrake**_ **: … yeah, that** _ **was**_ **out of left field. I'll choose** _ **not**_ **to answer…**

 _ **Guest (If you're still reading this):**_ **Each to his own, I guess.**

 _ **Bannana-boi:**_ **:D**

 **=====Chapter 5: Skorpios Suckios=====**

"... you will be monitored and graded by our professors, but they shall not intervene. Do not hesitate to destroy _everything_ in your path… or you will die. Any questions? No? Then let us begin."

Cole already knew what he needed to do. He already knew which partner he needed, which piece to take, and how to avoid the deathstalker. He had initiation in the bag!

Cole had taken Juane's spot on the launchpads, so as to hopefully land in the same area as Juane did. From there he could make his way to Pyrrha. Aside from her being a strong teammate, he needed to fill in the missing gap in team JNPR to help stick to canon at least relatively closely. He watched as one by one, his classmates were flung from their pads into the air, each performing the initial steps to begin their landing.

Cole's launchpad whirred and clicked beneath him before launching him into the air. He spread his arms and flattened himself, almost as if he were wingsuiting. He used the air resistance to get as far as possible, before suddenly, an unexpected force snagged his fur and pinned him to a tree. Looking up, he saw Pyrrha's spear. Well, looks like she claimed him as her partner. He hung from the tree for a couple of minutes, before he got bored and decided to drop down and hunt some Grimm.

I===I

Within the Forest, the Deathstalker—armed with the knowledge of hundreds of stalkers before _it_ —was ready to complete its task. Upon finding the unique aura signature of its target among dozens of auras that entered the forest, the deathstalker broke down the cliffside that had held it as it hibernated and grew. Without so much as a click of its claws, the oversized arachnid made its way into the trees.

I===I

Cole leapt at a tree trunk, bouncing off and twisting midair to latch his claws onto the Ursa he currently faced. The bear roared and attempted to reach behind his back in order to smack Cole off. Cole dug his hind claws into the bear's back for leverage, releasing his front paws' grip in order to repeatedly slash at the back of the Ursa's neck. The hostile Grimm roared in pain at the gouges being scored in its flesh.

Cole's claws were as hard as any weapon-grade steel you could find on or off the markets. His bone plates were bulletproof, even to heavy weapons such as miniguns and armor-piercing sniper rounds. There was a reason hunter parties were formed to hunt down any Grimm above the age of five. Cole was _six_.

The Ursa staggered backward into a tree, but Cole leapt clear quickly enough, so the Ursa only hurt itself. Then, to add insult to injury, a branch cracked off the tree and knocked the Ursa straight in the head. During the bear's brief moment of confusion, Cole struck, relieving the Ursa of the ache in its head. And all other aches. Forever.

Cole moved away from his kill, and hid behind a tree when he heard Weiss coming out of the bushes. "... literally anyone else as a partner."

At that moment, Cole had the best idea. An idea that would confuse Weiss to no end _and_ ensure she ended up as Ruby's partner.

Acting quickly, he called in a favor from the universe's comedy dept., of which Nora was a common customer.

I===I

Weiss exited to bushes to find Cole… holding a tray with several paints… with a half-finished painting of Weiss getting a pie to the face in the dining hall.

Weiss merely stood still for a few seconds, blinking and rubbing her eyes. When the scene did not disappear, she promptly turned around and went back the way she came.

"You came back!"

"This does _not_ make us friends."

I===I

Moments later, after the universe finished reclaiming its props, Pyrrha entered the clearing. She the beowolf on the ground, but as Cole was facing away from her, Pyrrha could not see his distinctive markings and instinctively attacked.

Cole had no time to react. In his mirth regarding Weiss, he had forgotten how quickly Pyrrha showed up. So he stumbled forward when the bronze-colored shield smashed into his back, taking a small chunk in his aura. Upon seeing the shield ricochet off a tree and back towards him, he realized the mistake that had been made. After crossing his arms to deflect Akoúo̱ off his gauntlets, he turned and raised his arms in the 'I surrender' position.

Pyrrha had already summoned Miló from the tree, and was in the act of throwing it. But when she saw who, rather than _what_ , she had attacked she redirected the spear point into the ground. "I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly apologized, reclaiming her weapons.

" _No problem,"_ Cole replied on his scroll. " _Also, magnetism semblance? Nice!"_

"Um… how did you…"

" _How did I know? Well, the angle of the shield's deflection shouldn't have made it possible to_ —" Cole was cut off at the sound of a tree falling close by… very close by. The pair stayed silent, turning towards the noise as another tree fell… closer. A minute passed with no further sounds of that magnitude, even to Cole's above and beyond hearing.

They approached the direction of origin of the sounds, Pyrrha shield up and lance ready, Cole on all fours, ready to sprint or jump.

Cole was hit from behind, caught completely by surprise, and was sent flying through the air, smashing into a tree with a loud help of surprise and pain. Pyrrha, immediately taking note of her partner's distress, swung her shield about-face to meet an expected attack. What she had not been able to take into account, in her split-second of reaction, was the weight and power behind a direct pincer strike from a large Deathstalker. Her stance and shield position were not great for this magnitude of brute-force attack, and was knocked backwards, fast. She dug her spearpoint into the ground, slowing to a stop.

Cole got up off the ground, aura healing bruises gained in the attack. The deathstalker's red eyes burned with uncloaked hatred, which Cole could feel radiating off the beast in waves. ' _Is it just me or is it an it colder than it was a few seconds ago…'_

He was right. Fear was radiating off Pyrrha, and Cole could see the Deathstalker's aura—for lack of a better word—hanging in the air, pressing down on them.

Now that he noticed it, this deathstalker was _terrifying_. The blood-red markings on its carapace were more numerous than a typical deathstalker's, and the skin that showed was straight up _vantablack_ **[Google it]** in color, absorbing all the nearby light.

Next to him, Pyrrha was looking pale, actually beginning to hyperventilate. This wasn't normal… Something wasn't right.

I===I

Ozpin frowned as several cameras suddenly went offline at once. Switching his video feed to the closest functioning he manipulated the controls, attempting to view Cole and Pyrrha. Unfortunately, the shrubbery was too thick in just the right spot to block his view.

Shrugging, Ozpin returned to watching Weiss' and Ruby's… _interesting…_ plants get to heightened ground.

I===I

Pyrrha was transfixed by the deathstalker. She'd fought deathstalkers before, why should this go any differently?

But… she was overcome by an irrational fear, one that made her just want to drop her weapons and run…

Her grip on her weapons subconsciously began to waver as…

Cole shoved Pyrrha to the side in order to save her from the stinger, which had come down at lightning speeds. Pushing her put Cole in the stinger's path, but a quick usage of semblance ensured he was unhurt. Cole growled, at he stalker, on all fours, hackles raised.

This stalker wasn't your average Grimm. It screeched, preparing to strike again. Cole leapt at its head and tried to scratch at the eyes, but could was forced to bail when the a pincer tried to knock him away.

Pyrrha still wasn't moving, petrified by the deathstalker's dark energy, or so Cole assumed. Why he wasn't frozen, he wasn't sure. Sure, he had the body of a Grimm, but it just made logical sense that it would attack aura…

Cole dashed around the creature, trying to flank it, but the scorpion grimm turned to keep him in its view. It swung a pincer, and Cole flattened himself on the ground. He _could_ have turned himself incorporeal, but doing it too much within a small period of time tended to give him a headache.

Cole dashed in to try and get on top of the oversized arachnid. Mid-leap, he became intangible to avoid getting stung. He landed on the back of the deathstalker, and scrabbled for purchase on the smooth bony plates. He hooked his claws on the ridge between segments, and tried to cut off the legs at the base. But bone claws, despite being harder than steel and as sharp as most weapons due to his age, the skin of the scorpion merely deflected the attack. Retreating to avoid a swing of the stinger, Cole decided to resort to a different tactic. He perched himself on the scorpion's head, and tried to bait the stinger into striking.

But _this_ Grimm had the knowledge of decades of deathstalkers before _it_ , thanks to Salem's meddling. It knew the result of striking an opponent sitting on its body with its stinger. So instead, it tucked its tail and _flipped_.

Cole, taken completely by surprise, flailed momentarily before pushing off its head to avoid being crushed.

Using its powerful tail to right itself, the deathstalker scuttled forward at speeds that one would not think possible given its size.

Cole skidded to a stop next to a petrified Pyrrha. The deathstalker, having realized that Cole was not affected by its fear-inducing ambience, was pouring all of its hazy energy into keeping Pyrrha still, and now it came in for the kill.

Cole couldn't defend Pyrrha if his claws had no effect on the stalker, and he didn't have much in the way of slowing it.

" _Pyrrha!"_

She didn't acknowledge him, still staring at the oncoming Deathstalker with pinpointed eyes.

He waved a paw in front of her face, but her response was muddled. "Uh… I…"

Growling in frustration, he rammed into her legs with his side, and that got a reaction. With a shriek, she fell onto Cole's back, but kept her eyes on the deathstalker, clutching Cole's fur tightly. Without hesitation, he began sprinting through the trees, avoiding the deathstalker. He came out through some bushes, only to be confronted with a cliff face. A large hole in the side of the sheer wall, with scattered boulders. The deathstalker's old den. ' _Better hang on tight Pyrrha.'_

Cole crouched low to the ground, then leapt into the air, aiming as high on the wall as he could, digging his claws into the cliffside. They bit in deeply, but it was enough to gain a hold. He reached up as far as he could, digging his claws again into the cliffside. He used this new handhold to pull himself up. Repeating this process, he made his way to the top. But not before the Deathstalker reached them. Screeching in fury at its escaping prey, it reached out and heaved a thick oak out of the ground. Holding it in its powerful pincers, it launched the tree at the pair near the top of the top of the tree.

Having glanced back toward the deathstalker only to see an incoming tree, Cole's eyes widened. He pushed off his paw-holds on the cliffside, leaping upwards to _almost_ reach the clifftop. His front paws made it over the lip of the drop, but his back claws scrabbled for purchase against the rocky cliff face.

He heard the cracking of wood as deathstalker grabbed more ammunition, but Cole managed to find a grip and pull himself up.

Another uprooted tree flew over their heads, but it was more of a potshot than anything. On the flat, open surface of the cliff, he dashed away from the scorpion's still-present ambiance.

As the dark energies surrounding Pyrrha faded as they gained distance from deathstalker. "What… what happened?"

Cole stopped running and allowed Pyrrha to dismount. " _That Grimm wasn't normal… what do you remember?"_

"Well… after the deathstalker hit my shield, I went flying, but landed safely on the ground, then… I remember feeling afraid, but more than I should've been, even with a deathstalker." Pyrrha shook her head. "After that, I only remember bits and pieces."

" _... Well, it should be behind us know, unless scorpions can climb."_

Cole glanced toward the morning sun.

' _North_ _should be…'_

" _That way. The temple is that way."_

He realized he was pointing the way he came. ' _... riiight, long way around then.'_

I===I

Cole and Pyrrha emerged from the treeline, having only encountered a few beowolves and an Ursa.

Their detour had cost them a bit of time, and everyone else main cast had already reached and were discussing something at the temple.

Then, Ruby looked up. "Cole!"

The person in question braced himself and not a moment too soon. Ruby, activating her semblance, zipped over and tackle-hugged the beowolf. Cole accepted the hug, before promptly returning to the matter at hand.

" _So, whatcha talking about over there?"_ He asked, motioning to the rest of the people, who were watching.

"Well, there's this big, huge Nevermore that's staying away for now, but it's watching us, so we're trying to plan how to kill it—"

Cole stopped her there. " _Who said we had to kill it?"_

"Um…" even Pyrrha was confused. "No offense, but… it's a Creature of Grimm. If we don't kill it, it will kill us."

" _Who said_ WE _had to kill it?"_

Now Ruby caught on. "Ooh!"

The trio made their way to the group of five waiting at the temple. Cole grabbed his chess piece—White Rook, as per plan—as Ruby explained the 'run-and-leave it to a teacher' strategy. Fortunately, in this timeline, Ruby had already gotten her piece, so there wasn't too much delay when the deathstalker that _should have been left behind_ emerged from the treeline, tailed by a veritable army of Grimm. Beowolves, Ursa, even a few Taijitu.

"Deific excrement…" Ruby muttered, reaching behind her back for Crescent Rose.

To make things worse, a loud crashing behind them signaled the collapse of the bridges and towers, courtesy of the until-now-absent nevermore.

' _... Schist'_

The deathstalker's oppressive ambiance instantly descended on the humans present, and although they did not freeze up like Pyrrha had, they began cold-sweating.

Despite their unnatural fear, they were able to pull out their weapons and take battle positions. The Grimm held at the edge of the forest, seemingly waiting for something.

Then the deathstalker rushed forwards at speeds able to bypass the fastest beowolves. The rest of the Grimm took that as a signal and ran directly toward the waiting students, Nevermore overhead.

I===I

Back on the cliff, Ozpin inwardly scowled in annoyance at the power surge that had knocked out the forest cams, as well as most of Beacon Academy's electricity. Off course, vital systems, such as emergency communications and Amber's pod, were sustained by separate sources. But it was still a problem.

"Are the Bullheads still operational?"

Glynda tapped her earpiece, and after a moment, said, "Yes, they're ready for when the students reach the cliffs."

"Good. See if Professor Peach can find that old camera drone we stored away somewhere."

He returned to his static-filled scroll, wondering idly what had caused the blackout.

Likely some new kitchen hand left the fridge open.

I===I

Watts leaned back in his chair in Salem's palace, computer in front of him, his task complete.

The professors wouldn't suspect a thing.

I===I

" _Ruby! You got the birdie! I'll take the bug!"_

Ruby nodded and grabbed the rest of to-be-RWBY.

Cole got Ren and Nora's attention. " _Pyrrha, Ren. Keep the weaker Grimm off us. Nora and I are going up close and personal with that thing. My claws couldn't cut it, but maybe blunt damage will be more effective. So Nora… hop on."_

The instant Ren relayed the message, Nora's eyes lit up with excitement. Before Cole could react, Nora was on his back, ready to ride into battle.

"Onwards!" She cried, pointing her hammer toward the oncoming horde.

Without anymore discussion, RWBY and CRPN each broke off to take care of their own giant Grimm, be it bird or bug.

Less than a minute in, Cole hoped that RWBY was having a better time than they were.

As soon as they got within reach, the monster lashed out with speed that should not have been possible for a creature of its size. Cole leapt over the blur of a pincer-only avoidable due to his sparring with semblance-enhanced Ruby-and sidestepped a pincer strike that missed him by inches. Nora, now close enough to hit the deathstalker, swung her hammer, nearly hitting home. The deathstalker shied away, and the blow missed. Cole used the momentum of the missed hit to assist his leap up and over the deathstalker's snapping pincers, and land on top of its head. However, he and Nora were forced to defend in tandem as the scorpion tail rained blow after blow on them. But this wasn't just aim-and-shoot attacks from the scorpion. This one was smart, able to predict and parry their attempts at counter-attacks with the skill of a master swordsman. They did no damage, but managed to avoid serious damage.

Eventually, the deathstalker got a blow on Cole, and knocked him back, off the creature's carapace. He and Nora tumbled over each other, landing in front of the Grimm's baleful eyes. Nora attempted to use this opening to her advantage, bringing her hammer in a large, overhead swing for extra, finger ready on the trigger. Unfortunately for her, she had forgotten she was within reach of the oversized arachnid's pincers, and a hard swipe caught her directly in the side. Cole, who had just gotten up, was slammed sideways by Nora, and together they tumbled towards the edge of the cliff.

Cole was able to dig a claw into the ground, stopping his movement, but Nora kept going, and slammed into one of the pillars that once flanked the bridge with a yell of pain. Her aura shattered upon impact.

Cole's eyes widened. Just one good hit, and Nora was already out of play.

Ren heard her as well. " _Nora!"_

In his moment of distractedness, an opportunistic creep decided to lunge at him.

" _Behind you!"_

Ren turned but was tackled to the ground by the grimm. Taking on so many enemies, weak as they were, had taken a toll on _his_ aura, and he knew, even without looking at his scroll, that it was draining fast… too fast. Where were the professors? Surely they should have come to help by now!

The normally-stolid-Ozpin's eye visibly twitched as a tiny nevermore hatchling came took out the drone via suicide, not more than twenty seconds into its flight. So much for that plan. Bullheads it was.

As if heeding some unheard call, RWBY's target suddenly veered away from its attempts to take out the team, much to their confusion, and made its way south. But, having one less giant grimm was a good thing, right?

So they unanimously decided, without any hesitation or discussion, to go assist CRPN

… Not that it was going well for them.

Honestly, the whole reason they were not dead—or over the cliff—was because the majority of Grimm held positions in a semi-circle around them, keeping them blocked in.

With Ren and Pyrrha's lack of Area of Effect, large numbers would be a problem. Not even including the giant deathstalker which seemed more annoyed and unhurt than angry.

"Come on! Let's help them!" Ruby yelled, leading the charge. She ran directly at the biggest threat, casually slashing at minor Grimm who got too near.

Upon getting close to the deathstalker, Ruby swung her scythe, firing a gravity round to speed up the swing. The deathstalker merely bent its front pairs of legs, and the scythe skated off its bone armor, making Ruby stumble forward from the lack of expected resistance. The heavy pincers once again struck, but Ruby lessened the impact by swinging Crescent Rose to meet its swing. However, Ruby made the mistake of taking the full force of the attack, versus deflecting the blow by angling Crescent Rose's barrel.

Ruby flew back, crashing into an incoming beowolf. They both tumbled to a stop. Quickly confirming it wasn't Cole, Ruby swung her sniper around at let loose a point-blank round.

To both of their surprise, a bullet didn't come out of the barrel, and the gun jumped _forward_ in her hands.

Then she saw the problem. The gun had _bent_ where the deathstalker had hit it, even reinforced as it was.

This was not your average deathstalker.

All these observations happened within a split second of analysis, but the beowolf didn't care _why_ it wasn't dead. It just charged her and slashed its claws. Ruby batted the claw away with the stock and bisected the Grimm with the blade, before rushing back to the remaining students.

"Gun jammed."

"Blake! With me!" Yang called.

Blake finished off her beowolf, then vaulted backwards off its corpse, dodging a blow and landing next to the brawler.

"You're my partner. Let's take this thing down!"

The bullhead's nose minigun opened up, a stream of dust rounds flying just past the flared wings of the giant Nevermore.

The giant bird returned with a salvo of razor feathers from its seemingly endless supply. Glynda threw up a glyph that stopped or deflected most of the feathers, and the pilot dropped in altitude to avoid some more.

Reaching out with her semblance, Glynda grabbed a few of the detached, falling feathers, and hurled them back at the Grimm.

Some connected, their force tearing through the Grimm. The injured bird screeched in rage, but did not get a chance to retaliate as Glynda redirected the feathers to drive straight through the creature's brain.

The bird's momentum sent it tumbling below the bullheads sent to pickup the students. "That Nevermore was the same one that Ms. Rose used to… gain a vantage point. There is no reason that it should be over here."

Glynda realized the meaning behind his words. Without further urging, she instructed the pilot to fly faster.

The stinger tore through Blake's chest, and the shadow clone dissolved. The _real_ Blake slashed at the glowing barb's base, but the thick skin of the stalker prevented the blade from doing any real damage. Yang's flurry of semblance-enhanced punches, each of which had the power to kill a lesser Grimm, battered the deathstalker's faceplates, but neither they nor the subsequent shotgun blasts penetrated the white carapace.

' _S***.'_ Yang was annoyed at her lack of overall effect. She fired Ember Celica to get above a pincer swing, but took the opportunity in the air to rain a volley of shells on more exposed sections of body, namely, leg joints and breaks in the armor.

Blake kept the deathstalker distracted and infuriated while Yang's shells rained down, safely away from Blake, of course.

Blake's own weapons, lacking heavy penetration power, did nothing to break through the deathstalker's thick hide, but her acrobatic prowess and heavy use of shadow-clones made her great at distracting the Grimm. The problem was, she was at her limits. And that was with _out_ the tail getting involved, said appendage getting distracted by Yang.

Each clone Blake produced was near-instantly crushed, bisected by pincers, or snapped up by mandibles. And the _real_ Blake was only barely ahead of each of these deaths, and while she had yet to take even a glancing blow, she was getting tired. Ducking under a swing of the pincer, Blake then leapt back, letting a shadow clone take the hit. Yang landed next to the faunus, having finished off her second-to-last clip. She reloaded her gauntlets and told Blake, "I'm almost out. We gotta—" They were interrupted by a pair of Ursai, blocking their path to the rest of the students, who were either fighting off lesser Grimm or recovering. Unfortunately, when they had turned instinctively to identify the new threat, the scorpion Grimm had decided to come in for the kill. The relatively quiet clacking of the Grimm's plates moving was audible to Blake's faunus ears, even masked as it was by her bow and gunfire. She whipped about to see the tail striking at a still-unaware Yang.

" _Look out!"_ Blake yelled, rushing to her partner's aid, dispensing shadow clones to gain speed.

Yang turned and saw the incoming stinger. She managed to turn to avoid getting impaled, but the stinger grazed her back, breaking through her remaining aura due to the needle-like point and the sheer power behind the blow. Her aura struggled to close the wound, but only managed to mostly staunch the bleeding before finally sputtering out. The gash was still open, but filled with a sickly-green looking fluid.

 _Poison._

Blake reached her dazed partner, and parried the stinger's attempt at a second strike using Gambol, but though her attempt was successful, the enormous power behind the attack caused the blade to flex and jump out of Blake's hand. It landed on the grass in front of the deathstalker's snapping mandibles. All she had left in terms of weapons was Gambol's sheath. The deathstalker chittered with glee at its now almost-defenseless prey. It didn't bother wasting more time with the stinger, instead opting to raise a pincer in preparation to pound the trainees into the ground.

And then, there was ice. A spire large enough to encase the deathstalker's raised pincer and trap the tail, as well.

Weiss to the rescue.

The heiress didn't bother asking for a thank you, instead rushing to Yang's side and helping support some of her weight. She struggled though.

"Stop staring and start _helping!"_ Weiss growled at Blake.

Realizing she wasn't dead, Blake moved to help Weiss bring Yang to the others, passing the two Ursai that had previously distracted them, now encased in ice.

Cole raked his claws on the soft underbelly of the balking boarbatusk, before digging in with his hind claws and killing the opposing Grimm. Launching the disintegrating body at a stray beowolf, he turned back to see Weiss and Blake approaching with a semi-conscious Yang fending off stray Grimm poorly, the deathstalker smashing at the dust-enhanced ice trapping it. Cole immediately rushed to help them.

He leapt over the line the Grimm had formed around their 'last stand' position, right at the cliff edge, bouncing off an ursa's head to reach the girls.

Lowering himself almost to the ground on all fours, Cole invited them to get Yang on his back.

Blake got the message and Yang slumped over Cole's back, the injured girl murmuring deliriously.

They reached the rest of their teammates, Ren and the now-conscious Nora hanging back and providing ranged support After all, without aura protection, one slip-up meant death. Only Pyrrha and Ruby were left performing close-quarters, and Ruby's weapon was only at half performance.

Pyrrha tore through packs of beowolves through generous use of her semblance, throwing her shield and redirecting it through dozens of opponents before returning it to her hand. But despite this, the numbers of opponents were whittling down her aura, and her semblance was nearly useless defensively, due to the grimm's lack of metal.

Although she couldn't use her gun, Ruby made excellent use of her semblance, rushing opponents and attacking them before dashing to her next target before they could react, assuming they still lived.

Between the two of them and firearms support from those behind them, they were keeping the Grimm at bay, if barely.

Using some air Dust, Weiss sent a few beowolves tumbling over the cliff, and they entered through the small gap in the line.

Ruby was distracted from her melee combat when she noticed Yang's condition. "Yang!" She yelled, abandoning her injured opponent in favor of sprinting over to check on her sister.

"She's fine, for now at least."

"Are you sure? What if it's too late! Or if the teachersdontmakeitorifshe—"

The deathstalker's aura seemed to amplifying her negative emotions. The other grimm certainly noticed, turning their attention away from the semi-confident Pyrrha to the more worried Ruby, but with her senses amplified that amounted to most if not all the grimm, those immediately engaged with Pyrrha excepted.

In fact, that's likely how the deathstalker drew all the Grimm to them in the first place.

Cole noticed their shift in attention.

" _Ruby, calm down, she's alright! It's just a scratch… A big one, but still. I'm sure the teachers have an medicine for any poison!"_

The red reaper continued rambling. Cole grabbed her shoulder and turned Ruby to face him. _Calm. Down._

Ruby came back to the present moment, seeing Cole's familiar eyes, despite the rather hostile face they were on.

Grim-faced (pun not intended), Ruby pulled drew her scythe and settled into a combat stance. Cole joined her, and not a moment too soon. Unfortunately for them, the majority of the grimm mob had been drawn by Ruby's amplified emotions, and now they pressed on the four without any regard for their own safety. Weiss's dust harassed and weakened large groups, and Ruby's scythe was able to cut down a few at a time, even missing its ranged ability. Blake's semblance confused enemies long enough for her to backstab them (literally) before moving on the the next target. Cole, despite his gangly build, was able to put serious power behind his blows, and took out enemies quite quickly. It helped that beowolves insisted on taking him 1-on-1. Wolf logic, he assumed.

Despite this, sheer numbers forced them to back up quickly, and soon they were fighting practically back-to-back, surrounding an unconscious Yang. "This isn't working!" Weiss growled. An ursa swung at her, but she encased it in ice. Turning, she stabbed her rapier through a beowolf, before pointing the tip towards the rest of the pack. But the sword merely clicked. A quick glance at the dust chambers revealed the problem. She was out of ice dust. Reacting quickly to this new development, she rotated the chambers and bathed the pack of Grimm in dust-fueled flames. While she had a bit of a break, Weiss checked the levels of the rest of the canisters. Unfortunately for her, while she was exposed, a boarbatusk took the opening to roll in past the smoking beowolf corpses, and Weiss noticed too late. She brought up her sword to try and block it, but Weiss was more about _evading_ strikes rather than blocking heavy hits. Her aura, though it managed to protect her, was done for.

At the same time, Pyrrha finally fell. A heavy whack from the deathstalker's tail sent her flying back into Ren. Ren hissed in pain as Pyrrha's spear dug into his side.

Cole noticed both these events in an instant. Ruby and Blake could protect the downed students here. Leaping over the heads of Grimm, he landed in front of the deathstalker on all fours, hackles raised, growling, and ready to fight. The deathstalker chittered and began attacking him full force.

Cole was severely outmatched. It was taking all of his skill and effort just to avoid dying. Duck. Dodge right. Parry stinger. Allow pincer to pass through. Attacks were coming from everywhere, and he was getting tired. The Grimm, despite not needing sleep or food, could still get tired in the moment.

The Cole sidestepped a stinger attack, allowing the golden barb to bury itself in the ground, before clawing at its base. No penetration. The skin was too thick, and he caused no more than superficial cuts, despite his steel-hard claws.

His attack left him open, and Cole gasped as the pincer grabbed him around the middle. Now that it had him in his grasp, it seemed in no hurry to finish him off, slowly increasing the pressure on Cole. His aura protected him, but it was fading, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. He attempted to use his semblance, but his aura was struggling to keep him from being crushed, and he could not muster the concentration to activate his semblance.

Salem watched through the eyes of one of her wolves as the scorpion crushed the renegade beowolf with enough force to activate his aura protection, but not enough to kill him when it broke.

Cole wasn't about to check his scroll for aura level readings, but he knew his aura wouldn't last.

Ruby was fighting her way through hordes of beowolves to reach him, but likely wouldn't make it in time. Blake was occupied defending a disabled Weiss and unconscious Yang. Ren and Pyrrha's bullets couldn't do anything to the deathstalker, and Nora dared not use her remaining grenades with Cole in the area of impact.

Suddenly, the clatter of a minigun rang out. Shells slammed into the deathstalker's side, and it dropped Cole in surprise. A small formation of three bullheads flew overhead, strafing the battlefield. A King Taiju reared its head, only to be peppered with bullets. Cole quickly got over his shock (and relief) over the teachers' arrival, retreating to the rest of the students. With Cole clear, and professional aid at hand, Nora released the rest of her loaded grenades in one giant, pink salvo. The grenades whistled through the air, exploding on contact. Nora smiled with unsuppressed glee. "That's for Renny, you giant bugger!"

I===I

Salems grip on her drinking glass tightened.

I===I

Ozpin observed the battleground with grim observations and calculation, quietly taking note of the deathstalker, largely unhurt by both their and Nora's efforts, glaring at them. Glynda and their pilot were not so reserved. "What in Oum's name…" the pilot muttered, re-aligning the chain gun."

"An elder Grimm," Glynda almost whispered with worry, and a hint of awe. "But how did a Grimm get so old so near the school?"

The chain guns mounted under the wings open fired, releasing hundreds of rounds a second.

The deathstalker raised a pincer to shield its face, and the bullets pinged off, releasing sparks. Grabbing a nearby boarbatusk, the deathstalker swung around, sending pig spinning towards the nearest bullhead.

Cursing her semblance's inability to directly hold living organisms, Glynda threw up a hasty shield. But with the deafening retorts of the chain guns and the unsteady floor of a bullhead in combat, it was not the best she could have done. The glyph shattered and only quick thinking on the part of the pilot saved them. A dip of the nose angled the plane such that the heavily armored boar only dented the roof, instead of smashing through the cockpit.

The bullhead next to them was not so lucky, and the unfortunate ursa was incinerated in the resulting engine explosion. The craft spiraled down, trailing smoke. Professor port leapt out of an open side door, taking the pilot with him.

Glynda exited the cockpit and glanced at the battlefield to find a (relatively) safe landing spot. It was somewhat difficult to see with the smoking Grimm corpses, but she found a spot. Brandishing her weapon, she jumped out of the bullhead, landing on an ursa's head. The beast face-planted into the ground, dead. Glynda dashed in the direction of the students and Port. Throwing up well-timed barriers and hurling trees and rocks with her semblance, the huntress tore through the remaining grimm, reaching the students' position on the edge of the cliff.

Sliding smoothly in front of the students, Glynda raised a glyph, blocking a swipe from the elder Grimm. Despite the quality of said glyph, the force behind the blow still caused it to crack. Glynda's eyes narrowed, and she brought forth another dust storm, like the one used against the bullhead in Vale. Lightning and ice dust shards poured out of the clouds by the dozens, slamming into the deathstalker, each shard with enough force to dig into dust-reenforced steel. The stalker roared but didn't fall, and instantly charged her position. Glynda released the storm, allowing one of the remaining bullheads to open fire. The dust rounds had no more effect than her spell did, but they were sufficiently distracting for the second remaining bullhead to come around and hover just over the edge of the cliff, side door open.

A couple of medics helped the students aboard, immediately beginning to tend Ren's stab wound. Meanwhile, Professor Port reached Yang, Blake, and Weiss, and helped carry Yang to the waiting bullhead, shotgunning any Grimm that got near.

I===I

The deathstalker was maddened. Its target was escaping, and, well, it couldn't exactly fly. In a mad rush, the oversized arachnid skittered forward, smashing through a shield in front and ignoring the minigun fire from the side.

I===I

With all students safely aboard, and an approaching, _very_ angry grimm, the pilot decided it was _probably_ best to get moving. With the push of a couple levers, the engines roared, and the craft began to rise.

If the deathstalker had eyelids, it would have squinted. The negative-emotion-enhancing 'aura' it gave off focused itself on the pilot of the aircraft.

The pilot of each bullhead was hand-picked by Beacon Academy for skill, quick thinking, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Indeed, even with the sharp retort of gunfire and the roars of grimm on the ground, the pilot was calmly, if quickly, pushing buttons and flicking switches.

But suddenly, shred of doubt worked its way in. Was he doing everything right? Did he remember to open the cooling vents after firing the guns? Did he engage the safety locks in the VTOL engines?

And suddenly, when he glanced out towards the engine, he caught a glimpse of the deathstalker's burning red eyes glaring straight at him. The pilot's heart skipped a beat and he froze, hand in a death grip on the joystick.

I===I

On the ground, Glynda immediately made the connection between the deathstalker's ignorance of the chain gun shells and the second bullhead's sudden seeming loss of control. With a yell (very uncharacteristic of her), she extended her riding crop towards the falling bullhead, and a purple aura surrounded it. Although the dust powered engines kept burning, she held back the aircraft from slamming into the cliffside opposite the chasm. But already she was feeling tired. Aside from fighting the elder grimm, she rarely had to pick up any one item as large as a bullhead before, and never from so far away. The effort it took to use semblance increased over distance, and the jet engines weren't helping. "Come on Ozpin," she muttered, gritting her teeth.

Ozpin jumped down from the bullhead on top of the deathstalker, which continued to ignore him, until he drove his cane into a chink in its armor. The deathstalker roared in surprise and pain, before flailing its tail in an effort to dislodge the one that had struck it. Leaping off the beast, Ozpin landed between the two pincers, and immediately rushed the stalker.

The deathstalker knew a threat when it saw one, and this hunter was setting off alarm bells in its mind. It released its mental hold on the pilot and poured all of its fear-inducing ambience into the being in front of it.

I===I

When the pilot regained control of the craft, Glynda released her hold on it, collapsing to her knees.

I===I

Ozpin immediately felt the mental attack, but it did not affect him. He slammed his cane into the beast, each strike rivaling one of Yang's strongest blows, but with the personal time compression active, he was able to hit much faster as well. He pinned the deathstalker in a time dilation trap, and, proceeded to sprint around the stalker, easily dodging its (now) ridiculously slow attacks and landing hundreds of his own.

Each blow was leaving cracks on the shell, and, with one final overhead swing, the carapace shattered. The bullhead hovering overhead open fired with all three heavy guns. Ozpin released time to flow at its normal rate, and the trio of full auto high-caliber weapon rounds slammed into the exposed space that the shell once protected. The deathstalker shrieked as thousands of rounds tore into it.

I===I

On the other bullhead, the students watched in awe as a cloud of dust bloomed from the location of the elder grimm. Eventually, the bullhead stopped firing, and Glynda, exhausted as she was, was able to help speed the clearing of the dust. When they could see again, all that remained was a crater in the ground, and an unrecognizable black mess, already beginning to smoke.

I===I

Any Grimm in the immediate vicinity of Salem began to slowly back out of the room.

I===I

Outside the palace, Tyrian heard glass being smashed and looked up from his training to see an ursa flying out the window of a tower.

 **I===I===I**

 **Welp, that chapter took** _ **way**_ **longer than it should have. But hey, long chapter+Ozpin/Goodwitch Action+miniguns = forgiveness (?)**

 **Actually, I had the first draft finished** _ **literally**_ **the same day the last chapter was posted… buuut, it was rather anticlimactic, had continuity errors, and just generally underwhelming. So, I re-wrote it. And I prefer this version. Ye.**

 **Also, vantablack. Pretty cool color/substance. Where can I get some?**

— **Dragoncraftertex**


	6. Big Plans, Blockheads, & Bug-brains

_**Important**_

 **I'm not sure if the email screw-up by Fanfiction was for everyone, or if my decision to give Jaune the boot was** _ **that**_ **unpopular, but in the case of the former (given surprisingly low traffic stats), there's a chapter before this. Hey, 2x chapters is good tho, right?**

 _ **Ok, you can skip the RVW's now if you want**_

 **Reviews!**

 _ **Nopeite nopeite nope:**_ **Yay! *Subconsciously puts more heavy weapons in chap***

 _ **DaToskin:**_ … **how… I try to think of a color-name for** _ **weeks**_ **with no success, and then 1) I ask my sister, takes about two seconds for her to think of one (Crimson/CRPN) and then 2) you manage to think of one that** _ **simultaneously**_ **keeps the 'tree' trend going! … how…**

 **Story!**

===== Chapter 6: Big Plans, Block-heads, and Bug-brains=====

The ride back to Beacon was in complete silence. Everyone was contemplating the fact that they had each come close to death several times. For that matter, the very fact that the teachers intervened, when they had explicitly said they wouldn't, meant that even _they_ thought the situation dire. But the most troubled out of all, aside from Ozpin, was Cole. And not just about his near-death experience. More along the lines of, _how?_ This wasn't supposed to have happened.

Lack of Juane wasn't the problem. The deathstalker had showed up even before he and Pyrrha moved from their meeting location. The blown-out cave entrance confirmed it was the same deathstalker.

Second, that Grimm was strong _._ _Ridiculously_ strong. It took _Ozpin's_ intervention to defeat it. That should not have been necessary. After all, team JNPR, almost on their own, had taken it down. And it petrified Pyrrha, which was a power it hadn't revealed in the show.

So _what_ happened?

I===I

The remaining bullheads landed back at Beacon Academy. Most of the second-year-plus students were milling around, wondering what happened during initiation. Typically, they were allowed to watch the test (with a twenty second delay, in case teachers needed to halt the stream) but when the camera's power, as well as Beacon's, went out, they were left in the dark… quite literally, in some cases. But seeing only two bullheads arrive, instead of the three that were sent out, said a lot.

I===I

When he exited the bullhead, Cole immediately sought out Professor Ozpin. " _Professor, I need to speak with you."_

Ozpin held up a hand.

"Do not worry, you all passed initiation, and Yang will be tended to by our best healers."

" _No, it's not that, though that_ is _welcome news. No, this needs to be private. It regards the queen. The queen has pawns."_

Ozpin gave no outward reaction. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

" _The queen has pawns, and she's marching for the seasons. She's nearly overtaken autumn, through spring and summer are nowhere to be found. I have my suspicions about winter, regarding second-place eyes."_

Cole subtly flicked his ears in Ruby's direction.

Ozpin, again, gave no outward reaction, but replied, "Come see me once you and your team have settled in after the ceremony."

I===I

"Cole Xaio Long **[*]** , Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. You selected the white room pieces, and will henceforth be known as team Conifer **[**]** , led bye… Cole Xaio Long."

Cole honestly hadn't known how the teams would work out, but it seemed all right. Ren and Yang both wore bandages, but other than that, it had all worked out. Of course, leading CNPR into battle terrified him, but… RWBY would stay RWBY.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xaio Long, you selected the white knight pieces, and will be known as team RWBY, led by… Ruby Rose. Despite knowing how it would end up, even with his knowledge of the future being called into question, he still felt a sense of pride for his adoptive sister. Though he didn't miss Weiss's disbelieving glare, he would not interfere, as that was their team business, and would get sorted out relatively quickly.

After the ceremony, the newly-formed teams made their way to the dormitories. Cole checked his scoll's map, confirming that this was the right room. Using his scroll to unlock the door, he and his team entered the room. It was rather plain, with the four beds lined up next to each other.

" _I think we can agree that we should go to bed now, and unpack later?"_

Nora didn't even respond, opting to lunge straight into a bed, not even bothering to get under the covers.

"I think I'll turn in for the night," Pyrrha yawned, making her way to one of the beds.

Ren nodded in agreement.

" _Right… I'll be back, I need to speak with Ozpin about something."_

He left the room, making sure he had his scroll with him.

I===I

The elevator ride to Ozpin's office seemed to take forever. Then Cole realized he hadn't pressed the button.

I===I

The door dinged open, and Cole exited the elevator to find Ozpin sitting at his desk, Glynda standing nearby. "So. You wished to speak with me in private, and you got my attention. What is the topic of our discussion?"

" _The Fall Maiden is in danger."_

"I'm afraid I don't know—"

" _Cut the act. Amber is one of the four maidens, and she's in the basement of this very building. Yes, I know the tale of the four maidens is true, and I'm_ fairly _certain you're the wizard. Amber is being targeted, and I'm not sure if her aggressor knows her_ exact _location, but she knows that Amber's at Beacon."_

Ozpin's took a sip from his coffee cup before telling Glynda, "Turn off the bugs in this room."

Glynda nodded, before various locations in the room glowed purple momentarily.

"Tell me then, how have you come across this _extremely_ sensitive information… on what seems to be _both_ sides of this conflict."

" _I've seen the Fall of Beacon. I watched Pyrrha Nikos die, you—or your spirit, or whatever—forced to select a new host due to Cinder—the opposing 'queen's' name—defeating you after gaining the Maiden's power. Because I am_ not of this world."

"And whatever do you mean by that?"

" _I was not originally from Remnant. This room, this school, this_ world… _all part of a show. An_ animated web show _, and everything that has happened has happened exactly as shown, until I actively interfered in events. Well, until yesterday and today."_

Throughout Cole's monologue, Ozpin and Glynda showed increasing levels of disbelief, shock, and surprise. "You… you are serious, aren't you?" Glynda replied after a moment.

"Yes, I do believe he is…" Ozpin murmured. "And why did you not approach us about this until now?"

" _First off, you likely wouldn't have believed me. But when the_ Elder Grimm _showed up in Emerald Forest, I knew something went off course. Second, key events happened due to your actions, which I wished to influence your actions as little as necessary. Unfortunately, the very act of coming here, to Beacon, has changed a large factor, which I now need to account for. I can expect some, in fact,_ most _things, to continue as planned but… would you happen to have an application for one 'Jaune Arc?'_

"Let's see…"

Opening a drawer at his desk, Ozpin took a moment to riffle through some papers before pulling out one folder.

"Yes, Jaune Arc, age seventeen, applied to Beacon Academy, was to be accepted until a second inspection showed his transcripts falsified. You came in his stead, as you had shown resolve, bravery, and of course, heroism, despite your physical nature."

' _Ahh, I see. To make room, Ozpin went through the the transcripts to see who I would replace… and he discovered that Jaune's were fake.'_

" _That makes sense. Jaune was supposed to come to Beacon and become leader of team JNPR, despite the enormous skill gap."_

"And he was one of the… main cast?" Glynda obviously was still having trouble wrapping her head around the idea of a web show.

" _It mostly revolved around RWBY, at least till Volume three's end, but yes."_

"So that's why…"

" _Yes, its why I went looking for you yesterday."_

"I'm afraid it's too late to do anything about that, as we cannot have five-person teams."

Glynda spoke up. "So, you knew about the _Elder Grimm_ in this forest and said _nothing_?"

" _No. At least, not exactly. I knew there was a deathstalker in there, but not Elder. The one I had seen before was likely a year old, at most. And it didn't attack until Jaune and Pyrrha quite literally stumbled upon it. Team JNPR would have taken out the deathstalker while RWBY dealt with the Nevermore. But, as you could see, something went_ terribly _wrong_. _That shouldn't have played out as it did."_

"Hmm… changing track, you spoke of the Queen and her pawns?"

" _Yes."_

Cole outlined Cinder's plan to destroy Beacon Academy, Ozpin's grip on his coffee cup growing tighter by the sentence, and Glynda wasn't much better.

At the end of that discussion, Ozpin silently set aside his coffee cup and put his face in his hands. The fall of Beacon, Amber's death…

"I assume you have some plan of action, then?"

" _Yes. I did. And some, if not most, of it will likely still hold true. But something's going on on Salem's side, because today should not have happened as it did."_

"... Very well. We will notify Qrow—"

" _No! If he shows up too early, he may scare away hostiles or interfere with events that_ need _to happen._

"What do you propose we do, then?"

 _What you would have done had you not had this information, for now. I informed you in case something went wrong concerning me directly. But we must tread carefully when dealing with the time."_

I===I

When Cole arrived back at the dorm room, at almost midnight, he made sure to enter as quietly as he could, as his teammates were all asleep. After plugging in his scroll, Cole lay down on his bed, but didn't sleep.

' _Heh.'_ When he arrived here six years ago, and realized he had a chance to prevent so many deaths, and deny Salem a chance to get a maiden under her control… he spent six years planning, taking hard _facts_ and predicting how his interference would ripple throughout the known timeline. It seemed like it would be just a straight-cut 'go in and smack Neo at the right time.'

But… a lot of that just went out the window. Jaune was not coming to missing, who-knows-where, it seemed that Salem was gunning for him (it took _Ozpin_ to beat that deathstalker!), and now he was in command of CNPR. This was going to end well…

I===I

Cole was the first of his teammates awake, mostly because he didn't go to sleep in the first place. He had spent the dark (except for night vision) hours of the morning unpacking his belongings and organizing for the first day at Beacon (not including initiation).

He would not make the same mistake JNPR and RWBY made day one of classes, however. Pulling out his scroll, and raising the volume to max….

 _*Megalovania plays*_

"Wha—" There was loud crash as Nora fell out of bed, before instantly springing to her feet. "I'm awake!"

Ren and Pyrrha both woke up the normal way, stretching and (minimally) yawning.

" _Good morning! Day three of Beacon Academy, seven AM, it's a beautiful day outside; birds are singing, flowers are blooming… on days like these, people like you should be unpacking, since you didn't last night! Or we can do breakfast first. Whichever majority prefers."_

"No, you're right, we should unpack first. Otherwise we'll be miserable at the end of the day."

They got the room unpacked and cleaned in about an hour. It helped that (unfortunately, in Cole and Nora's eyes) they did not need bunk beds to have sufficient space. Just as they stepped back to admire the well-organized and neat room, a blaring whistle blast sounded from across the hall.

" _Aaand there's Ruby. Aka, our 8:00 alarm. We have an hour to eat breakfast before classes. The dining hall is…"_ Cole consulted a map of Beacon he had stored on his scroll. " _... that way!"_

He pointed toward a wall. Almost _cackling_ with glee, Nora hefted her hammer.

" _But, lets maybe use the door instead."_

"Aww…"

Cole stared, unbelievingly, at the absolute tower of pancakes that towered over Nora's head.

" _Uh… is she seriously going to eat_ all those _pancakes?"_ He asked Ren, who was sitting next to him, completely at ease with the leaning tower of breakfast towering over them.

"No."

Cole sighed in relief.

"Those two on the top are mine."

Looking at the top of the stack, at _least_ a yard away, he began wondering whether or not Nora was entirely human.

I===I

Their first period was History, or 'World of Remnant.'

Oobleck noticed the beowolf in the room right away.

"Ah!" He zipped over to Cole, who backed up slightly in surprise. "So I see that the stories were true! Indeed, a creature of grimm does now attend Beacon Academy, a school that teaches _how_ to kill the Grimm. Rather ironic, but still a momentous occasion in history!"

" _Riiiight… I… will just go to my seat now…"_

"Yes, of course, there is history to be discussed!"

He zipped back to his position in the front of the room, allowing team CNPR to enter.

Moments before the bell rang, RWBY tumbled in the door and scrambled to their seats.

"Yeah… good job team RWBY… we made it…" Ruby celebrated quietly.

"We almost _didn't_ , you dunce!" Weiss hissed.

Cole frowned in annoyance, but he knew it would be resolved shortly…

I===I

 _Grimm Studies_

" _Monsters!_ Demons! Prowlers of the Night! Yes, of the Creatures of Grimm are known by many names… but _I_ merely refer to them as _prey_!" Poet let out a bellowing laugh (which was not returned).

Pyrrha let out a polite cough to get Port's attention before nodding her head towards Cole, who was trying to pay polite attention despite the teacher's… comment.

Professor Port realized his mistake right away. "Ah… aside from you, of course.

"So. Vale, along with the other kingdoms, are safe havens within an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is _teeming_ with creatures that would love _nothing more_ than to tear you to pieces!"

Half the class glanced over to Cole who was doodling on his paper, pretending to take notes. **[***]**

"And that's where _we_ come in! Hunters! Huntresses. Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask?" (Nobody asked that.) "The very world!"

One guy in the back cheered, before quieting down.

" _That_ is what you are training to become! But first…"

Cole knew it was safe to tune out the rest of the class from this point. Hopefully, Ozpin was where he would need to be, when he needed to be.

I===I

 _Several weeks later._

I=

Cole slashed at his opponent, but they ducked under the swing and drove the circular saw at his stomach. A quick sidestep and leg-out-to-trip sent his enemy tumbling to the ground. They continued the motion and ended in a roll, before facing Cole and open firing. He began strafing around his opponent, on all fours, managing to outpace the majority of the bullets. He suddenly came to a complete stop and activated his semblance. The bullet stream kept moving past him, as his opponent had not predicted a sudden stop, and Cole took the moment of surprise and re-adjustment to get in close and personal.

This time, he kept his arms closer to his body, allowing only small, short, but powerful swipes. They were blocked off the spinning circular saw blade or the front grip of the weapon (The 'Tommy Saw' had a handle on top for saw blade usage).

However, a feint and heavy blow to the side was all it took for the match buzzer to win.

"Notice how Mr. Song's aura is in the red."

The onscreen display showed that Cole's own aura was in the high yellow.

"This would indicate, in a tournament-style match, that Mr. Song is no longer fit for battle, and an official may call the match."

Glynda proceeded to point out the flaws and strengths of each fighter's actions.

Everyone wanted to take a stab (pun _so_ intended) at defeating their local beowolf, not unly top-of-the-class students (like Yang or Blake) had managed to beat him.

Then again, most people hadn't had more than a single try, due to the number of matches and the necessity for variance.

"Remember, it is only a few months until the Vytal Festival, and it won't be long before students from other academies begin arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those of you who wish to participate in the tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

Teams RWBY and CNPR were excited for the Vytal tournament. But Cole knew what it would bring. He had to hope that nothing _unexpected_ happened, or else his carefully-wrought plan may not come to fruition. But… most plans did not survive first contact with the enemy **[+]**. This plan almost didn't…

I===I

"So there we were… in the middle of the night…"

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai…"

"They were beowolves. No offense, Cole."

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down! And made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skin rugs!"

Ren sighed. "She's been having this same reoccurring dream for nearly a month now."

"Hey, at least it's pretty interesting," Yang replied.

Cole decided on a topic changer.

" _So, Vytal festival tournament. Who's excited?"_

"Ooh, me!" Ruby squealed with happiness. "We can finally fight in the tournament!"

"Yeah! It's one thing watching the tournament, it's another thing to actually fight in it!" Yang added.

"So many cool weapons…" Ruby was lost in her dreamworld, which, at this moment, consisted of guns, chocolate-chip cookies, and Zwei.

"Well, it will definitely be an interesting experience," Ren added.

"Yeah!" Nora. "Let's break their legs!"

In all honesty, that girl terrified Cole.

" _If the enemy all bunch up in one place, I'll let you hit them with the hammer."_

"Hey, stop that!"

Cole turned to see none other than Cardin Winchester, currently accosting Velvet.

Cole growled, getting up from his seat. " _I'm going to stop him."_

"Please stop… that hurts…"

Ignoring her pleas, Cardin just laughed and kept pulling at Velvet's rabbit ear.

"See? I told you they were—"

Cardin was interrupted by a low growl from their local beowolf.

"What, one freak of nature here to help another? Aww, how cute! Almost as if you had _morals_ , but that's a human thing!"

Despite his taunts, Cardin maintained his grip on Velvet's ear.

"Back off, Cardin," Yang called out. "If he didn't have morals, that would make him free to kill you, idiot."

Realizing that, Cardin yanked on Velvet's ear one last time before shoving the faunus in Cole's direction.

" _What_ is going on here?"

An angry Glynda was coming down the hall, glaring at the three students in question.

"It wasn't me, professor!" Cardin said. "This… this _Grimm_ was harassing this fr-faunus and I—"

"Liar!" Called out most of the hall, especially the faunus. They were fed up with Cardin's racial rants and slurs, and now that an opportunity arose, they were willing to strike.

"Silence!" Glynda called out, and everyone quieted down. "What happened. _Exactly._ "

" _Mr._ Winchester _, here, began accosting Ms. Scarlatina, pulling her ears, calling her a freak, generally being racist."_

Glynda focused on Cardin. She was _not_ happy.

I===I

"Well… that was something," Pyrrha mentioned later, in their dorm room as they were doing homework.

" _Hmm?"_

"In the dining hall… that's one of the few times anyone's stood up to him."

" _It had to be done… he's typically not so bold about that stuff. So far, he's just teased and taunted."_

"Yes…"

They continued doing homework, until Nora spoke up. "Hey, we have a field trip next week, right?"

" _Oh yeah, that's right! Forever fall, right?"_

"Yes. Forth year students got last month's sap gathering, so we're next."

" _Yeees! They ran out of it in the dining hall yesterday_ **[++]** _! You know, it's said that the Grimm_ love _the taste of the sap… I can safely say that's true!"_

I===I

"Your job is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, the forest is full of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates."

The teams split off to their own sections of forest, and Cole made sure to make note of where team CRDL ended up. They had a couple extra jars…

Having made sure to identify CRDL's location, as well as the location of 'jar-throw' ridge, Cole turned his attention to the sap collection. Glynda was nearby, but out of sight, in case the Ursa encounter went south, but hopefully he had this one handled. Now, he just had to make sure he wasn't distracted by the sweet… scent… of the sap…

I===I

"And Lionhart is ready?" Salem asked Dr. Watts.

"Yes, he—"

He was interrupted by a seer approaching Salem, speaking quickly.

When it was done, Salem turned to Watts.

"We will continue this discussion later. There is a matter that requires my personal attention."

Exiting the room as quickly as she could without seeming like she was rushing, Salem hurried to her room, and lay down, connecting to her personal seer, and by extension, the renegade beowolf. She strengthened the connection, and found, indeed, that it was currently vulnerable to her manipulation. The Grimm side, previously locked away, had regained some control, albeit a fragile one.

Step one: strengthen its hold.

I===I

Pyrrha noticed as her partner dropped his jar and began walking slowly towards a slightly leaky tree.

"Cole?" She called to him.

When she got no response, she moved to him and tapped his shoulder. "Cole, is something wrong?"

Coming back to reality, Cole shook his head.

I===I

Salem growled in annoyance as aura suddenly flared up, blocking what progress she had made to gain control. She was forced to retreat before the soul's aureole, but managed to leave something opposite the barrier.

I===I

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked. "What was that?"

" _Sorry, I'm fine. Just, sometimes, the Grimm side manages to take hold. It's not often, but surrounded by this much sap, and distracted by something else, I was caught off-guard. Fortunately, it doesn't take a lot to snap me out of it, but…"_

Cole shook his head. " _I'm fine."_

He found his jar, and began filling it with sap.

Cole internally steeled his will against the Grimm instincts, trying to break out of their cage. They acted up whenever in the presence of people, especially those with negative emotions. The Grimm were weak-minded enough that he could easily do it, even in his sleep, but occasionally, an extreme of negative emotion from a collective group, or anything else that would draw a major reaction from the Grimm, could catch him by surprise.

Most of the time, he was quick enough to devote more willpower to his mental lock, but sometimes it managed to break through. It was easy to regain control, fortunately. Even a quick tap on the shoulder was usually enough.

Cole topped off his jar, screwing the lid shut.

Asking Pyrrha to watch his jar for a sec, he looked back to 'jar-throw' ridge. He saw a hint of movement up there. Looked like someone had just ducked down. He turned away, but shifted his eyes so that he could just barely see team CRDL peeking up over the ridge.

Unfortunately for Cardin, he believed that they were out of the beowolf's field of view. He didn't know that wolves' (grimm or otherwise) FOV happened to be wider than a human's, so even though Cole was facing almost away from CRDL, they were still visible to the Grimm.

I===I

Turning to his partners-in-crime, he made sure everyone was ready.

Russell was on lookout for unwanted attention, Dove holding the box of wasps (gingerly), and he and Sky… ready to throw jars. They had two extra jars filled with sap, ready to be thrown.

"The Grimm is mine," Cardin told Sky. Nodding, his teammate adjusted his aim to go for Pyrrha.

I===I

Cole heard Cardin thanks to his enhanced hearing, and saw the jars being thrown. Quickly calculating their arcs, Cole dodged the projectile meant for him, and snagged the second, which was headed for Pyrrha, before throwing it back the way it came.

"Huh? What?"

There was no reaction from Cardin's teammates.

Cardin looked at his sap-covered chestplate in confusion, before hearing the growl of a Grimm. Turning around, he was suddenly face-to face with an Ursa.

At least that explained his teammate's silence.

The Ursa sniffed at Cardin's chestplate. The teen in question slowly reached for his mace, which was lying on the ground. The ursa noticed the motion and roared, swiping at Cardin. He ducked, snatching up his weapon, but the action left him open to a second attack.

The Ursa's attack broke Cardin's teammates' stupor, and they quickly fled, believing a Grimm this size to be above their skill level.

Of course, them being bottom of the class, that wasn't saying much.

At this point, Cole entered the fray. He blocked the ursa's swipe at Cardin, and held it. "Wha… Cole?"

' _Oh hey, he actually said my name.'_

Cole heaved back the Ursa's heavy paw, before lunging in towards its stomach. Going on its back would be difficult, due to the Ursa Major's spikes, and maintaining his current distance would be disadvantageous. Getting inside the grimm's reach was the better solution, especially given the size difference. Cole raked his claws on his opponent, and the sharp bone scored parallel gashes in his opponent.

Roaring loudly, the Ursa swiped at Cole, and smacked the beowolf away.

' _Right, claws can't hit me there as easily, but he can still_ hit _me."_

Just as he prepared to pounce again, Cole winced as a sudden pounding in his head sprang up from out of nowhere. It ruined his concentration and he overshot his leap, crashing into the Ursa.

The bear grimm was large and stable enough that it didn't fall, but it stumbled back a few steps.

' _Ugh… wha…'_ Cole managed to stumble, one paw to his head, away from the ursa, which was now glaring at him, ready to strike.

It swung its paw, but a large, purple shield materialized next to him, blocking the blow. Glynda arrived, scowling at the Ursa, and ready to finish it off. Uprooting a nearby tree, she hurled it at the bear. The tree splintered on impact, but the Ursa was knocked off its feet and onto its back. The spikes on its back dug into the ground, now proving more of a burden than a help.

Nora ran up from behind the professor and leapt over Cole, raising her hammer, before bringing it down _hard_ on the Ursa's exposed stomach. Pulling the trigger on her weapon, Nora simultaneously drove a grenade into the gashes Cole had previously made, as well as propelling herself away from the dying Grimm. Pyrrha committed the coup de grâce by burying her spear into the Ursa's chin. The grimm fell still.

"Cole!" Magnetically retrieving her weapon, Pyrrha rushed over to where Cole lay writhing on the ground, making a very dog-like whining sound. He was in pain, and his aura was occasionally flaring up at random locations. His scroll fell out of the pocket of the belt (with pouches) he wore on his waist, and a large 'warning' symbol was flashing on-screen. Snatching up the device, Glynda unlocked the device using the teachers' master passcode.

Cole had set the default opening app to 'notepad', but the emergency notification redirected it to the aura monitoring feature. The rest of team CNPR's auras were in the bottom quarter of the screen, all green, but Cole's was falling, slowly but steadily. It was mid-yellow, currently. But the real issue was the message that was taking the major portion of the screen. " _Grimm essence detected."_

All scrolls were able to detect if high levels of Grimm essence (whether by accidental ingestion of something Grimm, or inhaling too much Grimm smoke within a period of time) was beginning to have an effect on someone's aura, or directly on their soul.

During the first practice match involving Cole, the beowolf notified Glynda that his scroll had been specially calibrated/modified to account for his nature, so unless Cole's scroll spontaneously factory-reset, this shouldn't be happening. "Ms. Nikos, Cole needs an aura infusion, now. But be prepared to pull away if something goes wrong. Ms. Valkyrie, restrain him."

The two students immediately got to work.

Pulling out her own scroll, Glynda quickly navigated away from 'Angry Grimm' and called Professors Ozpin, Peach **[#]** , and Port. They were in charge of their own groups within the forests, but the current situation might require their expertise.

I===I

Ruby and Yang hadn't reacted well upon finding out what was going on with Cole. Ruby had zipped to Cole's side immediately, and began rambling. Yang, after her initial anger at the world in general for harming Cole this way, began discussing with Glynda about incidents in the past that might have a connection.

Nothing like this had happened before, so Yang soon joined team RWBY (and a reluctant CRDL) in anti-Grimm defense.

I===I

With their own student groups safely en-route to Beacon in bullheads, the professors Glynda called arrived.

Peach relieved Pyrrha (and now Ren) of their aura-infusion duties, being a (medical) Doctor, and Professor Port took Nora's position. Ozpin sent CNPR (minus 'C') to help RWBY and CRDL watch for Grimm.

Glynda informed the teachers what she knew.

"This just happened mid-fight?" Peach asked.

"Yes. If I had not arrived when I did, I fear it would have been much worse, as his aura is draining for some reason."

Peach frowned. "You are the most adept person at aura manipulation, isn't this more of your department? Expelling Grimm essence isn't terribly difficult."

"Normally, yes, but due to his unique… situation, I wished to consult with others before taking action."

Ozpin nodded. "A wise decision, Glynda. Let's see what we can do for Cole."

I===I

Salem grinned as her 'bug' began its job, purging the aura, temporarily. Granted, hurried as it was, her creation could only disperse it, instead of channeling it elsewhere, but it still got the job done.

I===I

From her sniper position in a tree, Ruby glanced back towards the assembled teachers hovering around Cole's form.

She'd known him to be willing—and able—to deal with Grimm larger than himself. While the ursa he'd just faced (from what she heard) had been a toughie, it should've been well within his abilities.

She still hadn't figured out how he knew Ozpin's offer to join the academy before the headmaster even offered it. For that matter, why was it, the _one day_ he decides to go to Vale with her (to a dust shop!) Roman Torchwick himself decides to rob the shop. Ever since that day, things seemed to be spiraling into craziness at Beacon. With pre-initiation Blake, that deathstalker, this aura-drain thing, which never happened before, as far as she knew…

… What was going on?

I===I

Cole could feel his aura draining. He had fallen unconscious a while ago, but was still… well… sorta-conscious. Not to the real world, however.

He found himself in an empty, white void that seemed to stretch on for infinity. Nothing there except a big, black-and-red Hercules Beetle grimm tearing at the 'ground.'

"What the…"

Then Cole realized he'd said that out loud. _Said_ that. With a _voice_.

"Oookay, that's new. I guess I'm in my head or something then?"

No response. Cole supposed that was a good thing.

"But of this is my mind… that means that _you_ can't be good."

Cole turned his attention. Back to the giant bug Grimm tearing up the ground. It was at _least_ four times his size, but was worse was what it was digging down _to._ Aside from just tearing up his aura in general, the beetle was digging down directly on a dark blotch of ground.

Cole approached the bug, which ignored him, and peered through the ground. He could see red eyes staring back up at him, and faintly bear the rattling of chains. There was a beowolf chained down there!

Looking back up to the beetle, Cole realized what was going on.

"Are you trying to release my Grimm side, Salem?"

The beetle stopped its progress and turned to face him.

"So, is that a yes, or…"

The beetle swung a foreleg at Cole with surprising speed. He ducked, but the blow still glanced off of his back.

I===I

Ozpin watched as Cole's aura level stopped falling, temporarily, and momentarily hoped whatever was happening had resolved itself. Then it dipped again.

I===I

Cole backed out of the beetle's reach, looking for an opening. But between the giant horn, the swiping legs, and the snapping mandibles, it was going to be difficult to get close, especially with the size difference.

But then, he got an idea. It was further reinforced by the fact that a glowing lightbulb literally appeared in front of him.

This was his mind, right? Pretty blank, but that was because that left it open for modification for mental battle. Plus, he'd just fallen unconscious, so…

"This is _my_ mind, eh? That means _my rules!"_

The beetle clicked in surprise as stone towers erupted out of the ground, each housing an automatic chain gun. With a snap of Cole's 'fingers', the Chain guns began rattling off rounds, each impacting the Grimm.

Unfortunately, despite the power of his mind, Cole's mental bullets were unable to penetrate the indurate shell of Salem's beetle, and the bug Grimm charged and destroyed each tower.

"Riiight, that didn't work. Let's try something else."

This time, trees sprouted out of the white void, which was darkened as the jungle trees grew leaves to block sunlight from a non-existent sun. Bushes sprouted from the ground and concealed Cole, who was already hard to see due to the darkness of the 'jungle' floor. The beetle spun around in its circular clearing in the endless jungle, searching for the beowolf. Not seeing anything, it began to return to its original task, before Cole dropped from the trees, right on top of its back. The forests surrounding them instantly disappeared as Cole shifted his focus away from maintaining the constructs to digging at a gap in the beetle's armor. Unfortunately for him, the beetle merely needed to look up, and the pieces of shell closed together.

Cole growled (normal beowolf growl) in annoyance. He wouldn't be able to break through the shell unless… maybe… Cole dashed off the beast, turning incorporeal to avoid the flailing legs. Once he was safely out of dodge, he imagined something else. A jetpack appeared on his back.

"Oh, yeah."

The jets started up, and he found himself lifted off the ground. "I have _got_ to get Ruby to build me one of these," he said to himself as he flew above the beetle.

Summoning a rock—nothing special, just a rock—he threw it down at the beetle's head. While having absolutely no damaging effect, it managed to get the giant bug's attention. "Hey, you motherbugger! Come and get me!" **[It should be noted only male Hercules Beetles have the 'horn']**

The beetle was sufficiently riled up at Cole's mistake in gender identification.

Opening up its elytra, the beetle buzzed its massive wings, leaping off from the ground toward Cole. Turning up his jetpack thrust to the max, Cole narrowly avoided being crushed by the horn-like pincer. Cole allowed the beetle to pass underneath him, but dove down to meet the flight wings, which buzzed rapidly in order to keep the beetle aloft. Cole willed the void to darken.

The Hercules beetle was flying blind. Its night vision wasn't great **[##]** , and it had no idea where the renegade had run off to. It turned to fly back towards where it could sense the caged Grimm it was breaking out, but then it felt a sudden, searing pain at the base of its wing. Due to physical limitations, it could not look back to see what was going on, but it was smart enough to guess.

Cole slashed repeatedly at the base of the buzzing wing on the left, each swipe damaging the massive appendage until it could no longer function properly.

Now with unbalanced downward thrust, the right wing shot up as dead weight on the left caused the beetle to spiral out of control. Cole jumped off before the bug crashed down on the ground, landing awkwardly due to the unfamiliar weight of the jetpack.

The beetle rose back to its feet, stretching its crumpled left wing, and closing its Carapace. It turned to face Cole, disabled right wing trailing on the ground.

But aside from that, it looked no worse for wear. Enraged, the Hercules beetle rushed forward, horn-pincer thing ready to snap closed on him.

Cole activated the jetpack, now off his back, and sent it flying towards the Grimm. It merely batted it away as it kept charging.

I===I

Glynda put both her hands on Cole's temple, the unconscious Grimm occasionally twitching, but not making any other movements. With a slow breath in, then out, she pushed her aura into his, mentally beginning the purging process for Grimm essence. Then, the first complication arose. Her mind was drawn in, as well as her aura.

Glynda opened her eyes and stood up. She found herself in a white void, with the repeated clicking characteristic of beetles and the quieter, but still very audible roars of a beowolf. She turned and took in the situation. The dark patch in the otherwise white void, and the Grimm eyes shining from below the barrier. There was a rough, deep hole directly above it, likely caused by the giant beetle that now battled another beowolf, whose blue markings revealed to be Cole. As for Cole himself…

Cole left repeated slashes on the Grimm's elytra, causing sparks. He leapt off, before a platform appeared out of midair, which he used to bounce off and out of range of the swinging horn. Suddenly, a white, circular, leaning tower popped into existence, Cole standing on top. A casual swipe of the Grimm's foreleg caused the already-precarious balance to fail, and the stone structure collapsed on top of the Grimm. Cole leapt off, bouncing off a trampoline and landing on the ground safely.

The stone mound exploded, the beetle having shaken off the stone by rapidly opening its elytra.

Glynda, who had been watching in shock, took the opportunity to grab the flying stone blocks, and redirect them to smash into the base of the elytra. One outer wing was dislocated, and the other was torn off completely.

Cole looked around in surprise, and caught sight of Glynda. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Helping you get rid of this extra Grimm essence." Then Glynda realized she actually _heard_ him. "You can speak?"

Cole shrugged. "In my mind, yes."

The Hercules Beetle re-oriented itself, and charged at the pair headlong. It was mad, and in pain. Its wings were crumpled, slashed, and battered, and two of its legs were broken from the falling tower. It would _eliminate_ the cause of its pain.

Cole leapt up, bouncing off a mid-air barrier (thanks to Glynda) and launching himself toward the incoming beetle.

Flying past the the pincer-horn, he dug his claws into the softer flesh that lay underneath the hard carapace of the beast.

Glynda took the blocks from the tower (still somehow in existence) and smashed them into the hole that Cole had dug. With the extreme power behind Glynda's semblance, in addition to the hole left by Cole, the stone buried itself into the beetle's back, knocking it to the ground. Its legs flailed around weakly, before falling still.

I===I

Salem outright _cursed_ as the bug she had created fell to the combined might of Glynda Goodwitch and the renegade's efforts.

It was time to deploy her queen's pawns.

I===I

Glynda gasped as she came back to the real world, and Cole sat up, retching. Peach immediately grabbed hold of Glynda and began a quick medical once-over. Professor Port did the same with Cole.

Ruby zipped over as soon as she saw the commotion. "Cole! Are you alright?"

Cole bletched some black smoke, then gave a weak thumbs-up.

" _We need to talk,"_ Cole signed to Ozpin, who was standing nearby.

I===I

Two bullheads took back the majority of the students and teachers, but Ozpin, Glynda, and Cole took their own back, door to the cockpit sealed tight.

"What happened?" Ozpin asked.

"Some sort of parasite Grimm invaded his mind and was attempting to…"

" _Drain my aura and release the Grimm instincts,"_ Cole responded. " _Salem… I'm fairly certain it was Salem. At least, the bug responded to her name. By attacking me, but still."_

Glynda let out a deep breath. "First the Deathstalker, now this. She must desperately want you dead."

" _But how can she know about the information I have? If she had direct mind access, she could just get everything and be sneaky about her counter-planning."_

Ozpin shook his head. "I think it's simpler than that. I think she may simply want you under her control."

Cole was silent.

"She may not have access to your mind directly, unable to read your thoughts, but she knows how deadly a Grimm with an aura could be. You saw how powerful the deathstalker was. A Grimm, even a beowolf, with that level of intelligence _and_ aura could wipe out cities on its own."

They sat in silence. " _What can we_ do _about this?"_ Cole asked.

"The parasite was draining your aura directly, yes? Then we must make sure your aura _never_ drops to zero. Your aura may be what is holding Salem back. But if she were to grant full access to your Grimm side, then… it is possible you may not be able to regain control."

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] *Shrugs* I asked. You had a chance to influence that decision.**

 **[**] Thanks, DaToskin**

 **[***] So spoopy.**

 **[+] 'Run' often works out well. Plus, plans sometimes** _ **do**_ **work out as intended.**

 **[++] Aside from having wonderful healing properties, it makes a tasty syrup!**

 **[#] Peach, in this story, is head medical professional at Beacon. Also teaches a First-Aid class.**

 **[##] *shrugs again* Google wasn't directly helpful about Hercules Beetle night vision, but it said they were attracted to light, which bugs use (in terms of the moon) for navigational purposes, or something… so I assumed. If you can quote a source saying otherwise, I'll fix it.**

 **Whoo, that was a doozy. It went on longer than I intended. If you couldn't figure it out, by the way, the stone tower belongs to Pisa. Speaking of which… that mind battle tho.**

 **As you can tell, I'm an Undertale fan, and almost considered giving Cole Gaster Blasters for that fight but… you'll see. )**

 **Expect a few more Undertale references in the future.**

 **One has to do with that plot bunny I mentioned earlier. It'll be pretty obvious.**

 **Anyway, this chapter revealed a bit more about what life as a Grimm is like for Cole! I'll be honest, I didn't start out this fic thinking about Cole having a Grimm side like that.**

 **But hey… why not. Might further the plot!**

… **sorry, I just watched the 'Deadpool wrote Deadpool' film theory.**

 **Also, the email screw-up thing wasn't just for me, right? Seems they got it fixed now but…**

— **Dragoncraftertex**


	7. Blake Belladonna: White Fang

**Welp, here you go, new chap, although it's a bit shorter than most.**

…

 **You know, I** _ **don't know**_ **what's the deal with RWBY fics…**

 **Other fandom fics (as you can see on my profile), I struggle to** _ **reach**_ **3k words in a chapter… now 4K word chapters are on the** _ **short**_ **side…**

 **Am I just getting better, or…**

 **I===I**

 **Time for da Review thingies!**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **No she doesn't… XD as for attack frequency, that will be resolved either in the next chapter or the one after that.**

 _ **Guest**_ **:**

 ***Reads Review***

 ***switches to google doc and continues writing story***

 **And now, story time!**

=====Chapter 7 | Blake Belladona: White Fang=====

Ozpin's momentus reveal was met with silence.

" _Can't… regain control…"_

"I'm afraid so."

" _My team and RWBY must know, in case something goes wrong."_

"I agree." Glynda. "But what should we tell them? It would not be wise to reveal Salem."

"Tell them what, not why. If his aura drops to zero, then he becomes a feral grimm."

" _We can't exactly remove me from all combat classes, that would raise suspicion."_

Glynda spoke up. "We can raise the 'zero' bar on your scroll. Make zero your current ten percent mark."

"That could work. It is settled then." They shifted as the bullhead began descending. "We will discuss this with Ruby, Yang, and CNPR."

I===I

Saying they were shocked would be an understatement.

Ren, although he didn't say anything about the theory, grimaced at the thought of a feral Grimm with aura.

Pyrrha looked afraid at the prospect, and even the ever-energetic Nora stood still.

"There's nothing we can do about this?" Pyrrha asked.

Cole answered. " _Aside from being careful, there's nothing we can do now. Perhaps in the future, but not now."_

I===I

Upon telling his sisters **[*]** , Ruby was on the verge of tears, and Yang was shell-shocked.

"Well… damn… this might be a problem." Yang said. She brought Cole and Ruby in for a group hug.

 **[**]**

Life resumed as normal in the next few weeks. Despite Cole's 10% decrease in aura pool usable for matches, he still won often. He still trained as he hadn't before, intending to become as unbeatable as he could. He wasn't going feral if he could help it.

A couple months later, on a Friday after school, RWBY announced they were headed to Vale, to meet (read: spy on, for Weiss) the new festival competitors coming into town.

Cole asked if any of his team wanted/needed to go to Vale. Ren and Nora needed to stock up on dust, but Pyrrha declined.

I===I

"Aww, its broken…"

Indeed, the store was broken.

 _All_ of it.

" _Umm… I think there's another Dust shop down at Prismarine Wharf,"_ Cole told them after a moment.

They headed down to the docks, and turned to walk along the oceanside, when suddenly: "A no-good stowaway would have been caught! I'm a _great_ stowaway!"

Cole immediately spotted the monkey faunus leaping off the light pole, landing easily, and running past RWBY.

Sun turned away from winking to Blake to find himself face-to-face with a beowolf.

"Whoa!"

To gain a better view, Cole had inadvertently stepped into Sun's planned path. The monkey faunus was not deterred, opting to leap up and over Cole's head. Spinning midair, he drew his bo staff and stabbed down. Cole blocked the strike off his gauntlets, and Sun used the extra leverage to send himself farther down the road, figuring the four trainees coming after him could take care of the 'rogue grimm'. He turned the corner as RWBY pursued, intent on 'scouting the competition.'

There was a loud crash as RWBY turned the corner and Weiss smashed into Penny. CNR couldn't see it from where they stood, but they could hear it.

Ren merely shrugged and kept walking. Nora zipped to the corner, staring at RWBY and Penny, before zooming back and saying, "One of them is a robot!"

Ren sighed, shaking his head. "Nora, you can't just run around accusing people of being robots—"

" _Actually, I think_ **[***]** _she's right,"_ Cole said.

Ren looked to Cole, curious to hear his explanation.

" _Her emotions are not like a normal person. Everyone, unless they're an idiot, have an underlying fear of the Grimm, or that something might go wrong, etc. There's none of that there. She's the ultimate 'happy-go-lucky.'"_ **[+]**

Cole could barely make out Ruby wishing Penny well.

" _... you guys go on ahead, meet back here when you're done."_

I===I

Cole rounded the corner to find RWBY and Penny parting ways.

"Oh hi Cole!" Ruby said when she noticed him.

"Whatcha doing in Vale?" Yang asked. "You don't normally come out to the city."

" _Same as you, meet the competition. Figured it would be better that they knew there was a friendly beowolf now, than have it a surprise later."_ That _was_ a side-task of his. " _I take it you saw Sun then? And met Penny?"_

"Who's Sun?" Weiss asked, still eyeing the beowolf.

She was one of the people who still hadn't fully become accustom to a creature of Grimm at the school.

" _That faunus stowaway you were just chasing."_

Yang frowned. "Since when did you meet a monkey faunus from… wherever? I don't recognize him from Patch, and he obviously came from overseas."

Ruby instantly changed demeanor from 'bubbly' to 'Detective Ruby.' That was a thing.

"Yeah… and how did you know about Penny! _We_ barely met her!"

"Yeah…" Yang added, "I would have remembered meeting someone that… weird."

"What did you call me?" Penny had decided to interrupt.

"Oh sorry I _definitely_ didn't think you heard me!"

"Not you…" Penny walked past Yang, then saw the beowolf.

Instantly, Penny got into a battle stance, and her backpack opened up, revealing a sword, which hovered over her head. It split into ten, but Ruby quickly stepped in front of Cole, arms stretched out.

"Waaaaiiiiit! He's friendly!"

Penny held back the swords to keep from hitting Ruby. "There is no such thing as a friendly Grimm. Beowolf, class One Grimm. Travel in packs, aim overwhelm enemies. Despite being only Class one, they lead in civilian killcount."

Cole grimaced at the statistics. He'd done the research a while back. Yang shook her head. "Well this one has a kill count of _zero. And_ is six years old."

Blake and Weiss glanced over, surprised. "Wait, what?"

"Later." Yang replied.

Cole stepped in front of Ruby. " _Surely you have built-in aura scanners. Use them!"_

Penny could understand perfect VSL, and heeded the Grimm's (strong) suggestion, not caring about his word choice.

Yang was confused about the 'built-in' part, but said nothing.

Penny relaxed her stance and her swords retracted back into her backpack.

"Oh. Well, it would seem that indeed, this is a unique specimen." Switching to VSL, Penny said, " _Salutations! My name is Penny, a pleasure to meet you!"_

" _Hello, friend! My name is Cole, and I am here as a student of Beacon Academy."_

" _What did you call me?"_

" _Friend?"_

" _Am I really your friend?"_

" _Isn't that what you came to ask Ruby? And yes, you are."_

" _Sensational! And regarding Ruby Rose… yes, so it would seem."_

Reverting to speech, Penny turned to Ruby. "You called me _friend!_ Am I really your friend?"

WBY: _No_

Cole: _Yes_

"Sure why not?"

WBY collapsed to the ground.

"Sensational! We can go shopping, and paint our nails…"

Cole chuckled internally as he began to move away, after saying bye, of course. Penny, even if her lack of social skills was a bit off-putting, was a good friend. Also… Cole's mood dipped slightly, becoming more determined.

He would _not_ let Penny die.

I===I

"So, that girl was a robot?" Ren asked Cole on the bullhead back to Beacon. They were alone (aside from Nora, and the pilot in the cockpit), so Cole felt _more_ free to speak.

" _Yeah. Don't tell anyone though… I think she's trying to keep it a secret…"_

"But with _aura_?"

Cole shrugged. " _I'm a Grimm with aura. Why not a robot?"_

"Robots are coool!" Nora exclaimed. "Where can I find her?"

" _I haven't the faintest idea."_

It was true. Cole had no idea where she would be until Sunday evening.

"Aww." A personal rainstorm appeared above Nora's head.

Cole stared for a few moments before deciding to just let Nora be Nora.

I===I

 _General Peterson won which three critical battles near the end of the Faunus Rights Revolution?_

Cole racked his brain, trying to mentally sort who did what and when, when his thought process was interrupted by muffled, barely distinguishable shouting coming from across the hall.

Despite keeping his eyes on his paper, his ears twitched, turning to allow him to better hear what was going on across the hall.

It was a trick that took him a few years to master to be automatic, but it helped greatly in combat.

" _You want to know_ why _I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and_ murderers!"

There were some _serious_ levels of hate, anger, and frustration coming from across the hall, from both parties.

" _Well maybe we were_ tired _of being_ pushed around!"

Silence. Cole put down his pencil, resolving to finish the assignment tomorrow.

At this point, RWBY was quiet enough that Cole couldn't make out what they were saying, but he didn't miss Ruby yelling to Blake to come back, after her big reveal.

Cole opened the door to see Ruby staring down the now-empty hallway, Yang looking shocked in her chair and Weiss standing in the background, dumbfounded.

" _Is everything okay over here? I heard shouting."_

Ruby took a moment to respond. "Yeah, but… Blake, she's…" Ruby paused, unsure whether or not to reveal Blake's secret.

Looking quickly for unwanted watchers/listeners, Cole continued Ruby's sentence, " _She's ex-White Fang?"_

Yang narrowed her eyes. "Okay, seriously, how do you know this stuff. Were you eavesdropping?"

" _She was_ quite _a prominent member back in its peaceful days, showing up on-camera during protests. I just recognized her."_

The girls seemed satisfied with Cole's explanation.

"Ooh, I should go get her," Ruby said after a moment.

Cole lay a paw on her shoulder. " _No, let her process things for a few days. And you still need to convince Weiss—_ " Cole glared at the slowly-recovering Weiss, "— _to not turn her in the second you find her, because right now,_ _she wants to."_

Cole re-entered CNPR's room, closing the door behind him.

"What was that?" Ren asked. He was finishing off some minor weapon maintenance before going to bed.

" _Not my secret to tell, but you'll find out soon enough."_

Putting down the grease bottle, Ren placed Stormflower on the desk before turning his attention to Cole. "I'll be honest, I do not understand you. Often, you're eager to solve a problem, and just _happen_ to be there when the problem occurs. And… you just _know_ things. Yang told me that you knew that faunus's name despite having never met him before. And you chose _today_ to go to Vale, but students had already been arriving for a couple days."

Cole wasn't quite sure how to respond. Perhaps he should've been a little more careful when throwing around names he shouldn't have known… but it certainly gained the attention of those who he needed to bring into the equation.

Unfortunately, it would seem Ren was getting suspicious of the inconsistencies.

Admittedly, this wasn't a confrontational situation he'd expected.

" _... remind me again after the Vytal Festival Tournament is over, and I'll tell you everything."_

In fact, he would tell everything to both teams, because if Beacon did not fall, then events would be _very_ different, and what they knew then wouldn't matter, because they would be in unknown territory.

Ren continued to gaze at the beowolf as he put away the weekend's homework, for tomorrow.

After a moment, he decided to accept the delay, and returned to lubricating Stormflower.

I===I

After Ren finished and went to bed (Pyrrha and Nora were already asleep), Cole grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from his binder, resolving to add one more paper to his bag of future facts.

Confirming that his teammates were asleep, he turned off the light, so that only moonlight filtering through the curtain was present to light up the room. That didn't bother him, with his night vision, but it would reduce the possibility of unwelcome eyes. Sitting at the desk, he began to write:

 _If you are reading this, then it means that I am either dead, have become a feral grimm, or just am not available after the Vytal Festival is over, one way or another. I have instructed Ozpin to show you the contents of this bag should either of the aforementioned situations occur…_

When he finished, Cole sent Ozpin a message detailing his request to inform RWBY and CNPR if the time came, as well as the location of the hidden papers.

I===I

 _Sunday Morning._

"Hey, have you seen Blake?" Ruby ran over to Cole's team, who was having breakfast in the dining hall.

"I'm sorry, we haven't," answered Pyrrha. "Why, is something wrong?"

Ruby pouted,staring down at the floor. "Blake's been missing all weekend! We're going searching for her in Vale, but we hoped you have seen her or something."

"Thanks anyway," Yang added.

The group turned away, toward the bullhead landing docks.

" _We should probably help them out,"_ Cole said after a moment. " _I mean… Avoiding her team for almost two days? That's a bit excessive, even for Blake."_

"And with only the three of them to search all of Vale? That could take days, but we should help if we can," Pyrrha added.

" _Well… not if we gave Nora a coffee, tasered her, and told her that Blake has some of Ren's pancakes."_

Ren opened his mouth to object the idea, but then reconsidered. "Is it a bad thing that that might _actually_ be a practical plan?"

Nora finished eating her pancakes and joined into the conversation. "Ooh! It's a manhunt! Or girlhunt! Like a game of hide and seek! Ready or not Blakey, here I come!"

She zipped out of the room, likely to 1) catch the next bullhead to Vale and/or 2) grab her hammer.

" _I guess that settles it. Ren, you get the coffee. Pyrrha, find a taser. I'll convince Nora that Blake has pancakes."_

I===I

Unfortunately, Beacon had permanently banned Nora from being within ten feet of any coffee, and _nobody_ wanted to loan CNPR a taser, knowing just _who_ was on the team. Plus, Nora was not so insane as to not realize that Ren could not have given Blake pancakes if she was missing.

As such, they were forced to look the traditional way: wandering the streets of Vale, looking for their target. They split into two groups: Nora and Pyrrha calling out for Blake from the streets, and, being the more agile of the four, (and Cole being unable to yell anything comprehensible), Ren and Cole leapt from rooftop to rooftop, searching from above.

Cole's Grimm senses were almost useless out here in the city, as the sheer number of scents present confused all but the most powerful smell trails, and with so many people around, it was impossible to pick out any one negative feeling that might belong to Blake. It didn't help that he didn't know _how_ bad she was feeling.

As a Grimm, he could, of course, sense the presence of negative emotions around him. But he could only feel the blanket emotion, not what they were feeling unhappy/afraid/frustrated/etc. _about_.

Meaning, he couldn't detect Blake by her worrying about Weiss, or how her friends would feel, etc.

So, instead, he resorted to rooftop hopping.

Cole marveled at how quickly he could travel like this, not having to worry about being careful to not scare people with a sudden movement, or by looking in their direction funny.

Granted, anyone underneath in an alley who happened to look up was in for a surprise, but still…

When their efforts proved useless, they contacted RWY and took a break for lunch.

"I just don't understand why we don't tell the police! I mean—"

"No." Yang interrupted Weiss. "We already discussed _why_ that's a bad idea."

"Why _don't_ we tell the police," Pyrrha asked. "Surely they would be able to help."

Yang glanced at Pyrrha before turning her attention to Cole. "You haven't told them?"

"Ooh! Told us what?"

" _It wasn't my secret to tell… fine, I'll tell."_

He turned to his team. " _Don't freak out… but Blake is ex-White Fang."_

Ren merely raised an eyebrow to show his surprise.

"Blake… what?" Pyrrha was honestly surprised. But she was _was_ willing to hear her side of the story before passing judgment.

But the most _unexpected_ reaction came from, of course, Nora. Why's that? She didn't react. At all.

Cole noticed this. " _Nora? You ok there?"_

"Yeah. why?"

" _You seem… surprisingly unfazed by this."_

"You told me not to freak out. So I didn't."

The group was at a loss for words. Cole, despite having spent months being on the same team as this girl, still didn't understand what made her tick.

I===I

A few hours later, after they had split and kept looking, Cole caught sight of a yellow-furred monkey tail disappearing over the edge of a rooftop. It was across a wide street, so he had to backtrack a bit.

He and Ren had split up, so he was alone.

By the time he (stealthily) made it over to the balcony with the two faunus (fauni?), Blake was already mid-way through her White Fang monologue. They was so focused on the exposition, they didn't notice the beowolf slowly easing itself down into one of the overhangs shading the tables by the wall.

"…so here I am. A criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little, black…"

Blake trailed off, noticing Cole lounging on top of the overhang, eyes closed and very much in a 'resting-not-sleeping dog' position.

Sun saw what caused Blake to stop and instantly stood up, drawing his pistols, and inadvertently causing his chair to topple, creating a loud clatter. Cole opened one eye, taking in the scene before him, before shifting his head to gaze at Blake, making a 'go on' gesture.

Sun cocked back the hammer on the gun, ready to fire. Blake got up, saying "Sun, wait!"

When Sun didn't shoot she turned to Cole. "What are you doing here? How long have you been lying there?"

" _Eh, about a minute. I was looking for you."_

"It can type?" Sun asked, thoroughly baffled.

" _Yes_ he _can,"_ Cole responded. " _Hello, Sun."_

"Uh, hi? _How do I say hi to a Grimm?"_ Sun stage-whispered to Blake.

" _Most Grimm would say_ —" Cole gave a threatening growl that, as far as _he_ knew, didn't mean anything. "— _but then typically try to kill you on the spot."_

While the two boys discussed Grimm etiquette, Blake considered how she felt about Cole's presence. The answer? Conflicted.

On one hand, she didn't really want to talk to anyone from Beacon right now. Sure, he recognized her from the peaceful protest days, but did he know what she had done under the _new_ white Fang?

Still, he knew _that s_ he had been involvement with the Fang, old _and_ new (since he _had_ been listening while she explained to Sun) and he hadn't made any (public) harsh judgements, or called the Police.

"Cole, just… _why_ are you here? I'm not going back… not yet."

Cole became a bit more serious, ending his conversation with the still-somewhat-puzzled Sun

" _Why not? Your team is worried about you. They've spent the last… eight hours looking for you. CNPR too."_

"But… why? I worked with the _White Fang_! And Weiss… she'll turn me in, won't she."

" _First off, was that past tense I heard? Second, Weiss is looking along with the rest of the team. You've given her a lot of time to reconsider her words and actions."_

"You don't understand… even if she's nicer to me, she's still going to be against faunus. When she was asking Penny about Sun, Weiss called Sun a degenerate, a rapscallion, a filthy _faunus_! People don't change that much in such a short time!"

" _And I suppose Ruby is still a childish, immature, idiotic girl who should not have been made a leader."_

"... What?"

" _That's how Weiss felt about Ruby, right? And that took, what, a week max to solve?"_

"But—"

" _But nothing. People can change. Anyone can be a good person, if they just_ try _. Weiss may not realize it yet, but she's re-evaluating her views on you, Faunus in general, and herself as a person."_

"..."

" _Give her a second chance, Blake. Weiss is willing to give_ you _one."_

"... Fine… I'll go back."

" _Besides, there's school tomorrow. I don't think you'd like your grades dipping."_

Blake's mood rose slightly.

"So, uh, what about the White Fang?"

Sun, who had been standing in the background through this whole conversation, decided to speak up.

Blake's mood dipped again.

"... I still don't think they're behind the attacks. They've never needed that much dust before."

" _Weren't you still in when they started stealing dust?"_

"Yes, but back then, we were only targeting SDC supplies, so it made sense. But random small shops? That's new, even _if_ they're run by humans. It can't be them."

"But… what if it _is_ them? Then the way to prove that its _not_ them would be to go where they would most likely go if they _were_ the ones behind it… and not find them there!"

" _Wasn't there a big shipment of dust about to be unloaded today?"_

"How big?"

"Huuuge. Giant Schnee freighter."

"You guys sure?"

" _Absolutely. Now, we have a few hours before they finish offloading. Let's go find the rest of RWBY."_

I===I

Ruby pulled out her scroll when it beeped with her 'new message' tone. After reading the message, she almost squealed with joy.

"What is it, friend-Ruby?"

"Cole found Blake!"

"Sensational!"

I===I

Yang opened her scroll in record time as soon as it buzzed, announcing its new message. She read Cole's blurb telling her and Weiss where to go, before handing the device to Weiss.

"Cole found her. And she has something she wants to say."

I===I

 _6:00 PM. 3 hours till Torchwick._

The rest of CNPR were the first to arrive at the town square, but sun had already left to go buy everyone a snack (bananas for all!).

Pyrrha broke the silence. "So… you are really… ex—"

"You _told them?"_ Blake glared at Cole.

" _Well, we met for lunch, and Weiss almost let it slip… plus they would have found out one way or another."_

"... I guess."

"Blaaaake!"

There was a loud boom, and a supersonic red missile slammed into Blake, knocking her off her feet. When the dust and cloud of rose petals cleared away, Ruby was squeezing Blake in a hug strong enough to rival Yang's… normal hugs.

Yang, Weiss, and Penny came in after her, the two humans panting, from a lengthy sprint, Penny completely unfazed.

"Met Ruby _*pant*_ half way here _*pant*_ insisted on running _*pant*_ the whole way," Yang explained.

"Forgetting that," Pyrrha added, adressing Cole and Yang, "Did your sister just break the _sound barrier?"_

" _She does that sometimes. Rare, but it happens,"_ Cole explained.

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Sun entered the town square, presenting nine bananas, one for each person.

Having pried Ruby off, Blake introduced him. "Everyone, meet Sun Wukong of Team SSSN."

"Ello!" **[++]**

Making sure only his target could see, Cole secretly signed to Yang, " _Blake x Sun. I ship it."_

He got an amused grin in response.

Anyway, this is about me, so… As you all know, I was a member of the Fang… for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it. Things were different…"

I===I

"... and so, I left, and dedicated my life to being a huntress, to _helping_ people… So there you have it. A criminal—"

"Nope."

Blake was surprised at Weiss's interruption. "What?"

"I don't want to hear that."

"But—"

"No. Do you know how long we've been searching for you?"

"Eight hour—"

"Rhetorical question. _*Ahem*_ Eight hours. I've had eight hours to think about it. And you know what? I don't care."

"... But I—"

"You said you were no longer with them? Then I _don't care._ "

"I… thank you."

Sun coughed. "Sorry to inturrupt, but we still have a possible robbery to prevent."

"Huh?" Nora asked. "Ooh! Bad guys! Let's _break their legs!"_

"You know what?" Sun said after a moment, "I like how this girl thinks."

Sidling up to Ruby, Cole asked, " _Did you finish that weapon I asked for?"_

" _Yes,"_ Ruby whispered back, " _You just need to make or find the right ammo."_

" _I'll get Ren on that right away."_

"So what's the plan, oh fearless leaders?!" Nora asked the two team leaders.

" _Blake, Sun, and I already did some planning,"_ Cole told the group. " _We shouldn't have the police come, they're to public, so here's what we're going to do…"_

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] that still feels weird to write/type**

 **[**] I'm not usually this dark, I promise**

 **[***] Read:** _ **know**_

 **[+] *Shrugs* Robots**

 **[++]pronounced 'hello' without the 'h'**

 **I===I**

 **That was a chapter! No fight scene this time, but hey, it's good to have a break from that every once in a while. And I've pretty much set one up for next chap, so there's that.**

 **And I guess there was** _ **almost**_ **one w/Penny, but… Ruby stepped in first.**

 **Also, Weiss said they had been looking for 11 hours in the show. It was dark out, so I assumed that it was, say, 10:00PM when they finally spoke (I'm assuming one hour** _ **not**_ **searching, due to talking w/police+getting there)**

 **So I'm assuming they left at ~10:AM, which makes it 6:00 when they meet up.**

 **Also, Grimm etiquette. *gives thumbs up***

— **dragoncraftertex**


	8. Truth and Pancakes

**Heeellllooo everyone!**

 **So, I guess giving Juane the boot really** _ **was**_ **that unpopular a decision, cause I lost, like, 85% of reviewers.**

 **Huh.**

 **Well, if that was the reaction I got from** _ **that**_ **, I'd better stock my fallout bunker…**

 **REVIEW TIME!**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **I have never seen One Piece. Not** _ **one piece**_ **of it! Eh? Eh? I'll see myself out.**

 **(Thanks for sticking with me in the reviews tho XD)**

 **END OF DA REVIEWS (already? aww…)!**

 **Right… Food, check. Water, check. Generator, check. Compooter, check. Wifi, check.**

 **I'm set. Here's your story.**

 ***slams bunker door shut***

=====Chapter 8: Truth and Pancakes=====

"Let's get a move on, we're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment!" Torchwick called out to the faunus.

"Is it them?" Ruby whispered into her scroll. After a moment, Blake's response came through.

" _Yes. I didn't want to believe it, but… it's really the White Fang. But why are they working with someone like_ Roman Torchwick? _That doesn't make sense…"_

 _*New message ding*_

' _Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Penny be ready. Blake, Sun, ready to create the distraction?'_

" _Yes,"_ came Blake's reply. " _Sun, hold off a bit before coming in."_

"What the— oh, for f—."

"Nobody move!... Brothers of the White Fang!"

I===I

Having received the go-ahead from Cole, and with the distraction started, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Penny snuck around a crate and dashed silently behind the bullhead, hiding them from view. Using her magnetic abilities, Pyrrha tore open a hole in the side of the bullhead, giving Ren and Penny an opening to get in.

Ren clambered in, and took out the pilot noiselessly.

Penny followed him into the cockpit, and began typing away at the ship's computer.

After only a few seconds, she said, "Downloading flight plan and history," having made quick work of the Fang's firewalls.

When the wireless data transfer was complete, she said, "Let's go."

Then, the roar of at least two more bullheads became suddenly apparent, signaling the arrival of Torchwick's backup.

With the data downloaded, and a fight quickly approaching, Pyrrha moved to the second stage of the plan, ripping a second hole into the bullhead's side, this time exposing the cables and wires that webbed in between the walls.

Without any sort of pause for caution, Nora proceeded to jam her arm into the bullhead's innards, grabbing all the cables and ripping them out with gusto, draining the bullhead's dust-powered batteries.

Her eyes widened, pupils becoming pinpricks, and she began rapidly vibrating. Electricity ran up and down her hammer, which she held in a grip that could break bones. "Oh, _yes_."

I===I

Hearing/seeing that particular bullhead power down, Yang and Ruby, in a sniper position on some crates, aimed a large disc-launcher-esque gun at Torchwick, who was currently being distracted by Blake.

"A little to the left," Ruby told Yang, and Yang, who was holding the large cannon, shifted the weapon accordingly.

Weiss joined the fray in the center of the docks, attacking Torchwick from behind.

"What the—"

Torchwick was frozen in place—literally—but it was only a thin layer, and he would quickly be free.

With her aim dead-on, Ruby yelled, down to the docks and into the scroll-network, " _CLEAR!"_

Instantly, Blake, Sun, and Weiss, who had been in combat with the White Fang grunts, bailed out and ran. Ruby pulled the trigger, and a whoosh of compressed air put Yang's strength to the test. She held the weapon still, however, and the projectile arced toward Torchwick.

I===I

"Stupid Schnee brat," Roman muttered as he smashed the last of the ice holding him still. He looked up to see the the troublesome Beacon students running. Then, something landed on his face.

"What now…"

He pulled off the offending object, holding it at arm's length.

It was a pancake. A syrup-soaked pancake. "...What?"

Mentally shrugging, he dropped it on the floor and absentmindedly stepped on it.

"Oh, you did _not."_

"Eh? _Holy—!"_

Roman turned to see who spoke, but promptly had to dive to the side as the bullhead he flew in on came barreling toward him.

It smashed into a building, but there was no detonation of lightning dust.

Turning to face the attacker, he saw Nora Valkyrie, standing in all her electricity-enhanced glory. Despite the 25-ton aircraft she had just thrown _on her own_ , Nora was ready for battle.

 _Nobody_ messes with a Ren-made pancake in front of her.

Except Ren.

She sped forward at speeds to match Ruby, and swung her hammer with enough force to knock over a Goliath.

Roman, despite his strength and prowess at combat, was no match, and flew backwards into a crate.

Cursing, he fired off several shots from his cane, holding his likely-bruised ribs.

The Roman candles **[*]** whistled out of the cane, but enhanced Nora dodged or deflected the fireworks with unnatural speed. While Torchwick was distracted, he was smacked from behind.

' _Huh?'_

Cole swung again, but Roman blocked the blow on his cane, before being hit from behind with a grenade. Cole had turned incorporeal, so the explosion did not affect him.

On the stomach, his cane knocked away, Torchwick looked to see if anyone could help him.

Unfortunately for him, all of the grunts were being occupied by the rest of the teams.

The bullheads were out of commission, thanks to Penny's lasers and Pyrrha's subtle use of magnetism to lock up important components or simply remotely pull a few vital internal wires.

Ten trainees… what was his luck?

Nora ran in again, hammering the downed Torchwick, and his aura shattered.

Cole planted himself on top of the criminal, pinning Roman's arms beneath his paws. When Roman struggled, Cole leaned in close to the back of his head and growled lowly, teeth bared, making it clear to Roman that an escape attempt would not be good for his health.

Well, Cole wouldn't rip out his throat if it came down to hit, but Torchwick could deal with a damaged arm, right?

Roman was a criminal, despite his boasting, and knew when it would be throw in the towel. He wasn't _that_ loyal to Cinder, and while she was terrifying, the Grimm sitting on his back was a much more immediate threat.

"Fine, you win," he growled.

Nora plucked the hat off his head and and turned around, before throwing it and into the air. As it came down, she struck it mid-air, baseball-style, sending it flying into the harbor.

" _That_ is for messing with Ren's pancakes," she glared at the criminal, openly staring at where his fat fell in the water.

I===I

The fighting, as well as explosions due to falling bullheads, attracted the attention of the police. Weiss and Pyrrha, the two most well-known members, explained the situation (" _We came down to greet some late-night arrivals to Beacon, but the bullheads and Roman Torchwick was kind of hard to miss, so we came to stop them."_ ), and Roman and his gang of White Fang were carted away pretty quickly.

"Well this was a rather eventful evening, it would seem," Ozpin said dryly, observing the White Fang soldiers being herded into police transports.

Cole started in surprise. " _I know I told you to be here, but did you_ have _to sneak up on me like that?"_

"My apologies. Your uncle Qrow has sent his message. 'The Queen has Pawns.'"

" _Right. You can call him back from the field then. He should arrive during the tournament, which is…"_

"A few months from now."

" _End-of-the-year, right?"_

"Yes. Has the Queen entered Beacon yet?"

" _No, but she will soon… do you know any dependable hunters who have resistance or immunity to illusion-type semblances?"_

"A few. Why?"

" _You may want one… or a few… of them to guard Torchwick until you ship him off to Maximum Security. He has a partner, Neopolitan, with an illusion-type semblance, she or Emerald may try to bail him out."_

RWBY and the rest of CNPR made their way over to the pair, having finished working with the police.

"Hey, Cole," Ruby said. "Did you see where Penny went?"

" _Nope, sorry. Although, she did give us this,"_ he replied, holding up the Remnant equivalent of a USB stick. " _The flight plans and history of Roman's bullhead. We now have several locations for dust drop-offs and White Fang hideouts."_

"Yeah! Teams RWBY and CNPR are going to become the youngest Hunters and Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale!" Ruby called out, pumping a fist in the air.

Ozpin let out a polite cough.

"Uh, heh heh… with your permission, of course."

"... Well, okay then."

"Yeah!" It was Yang's turn to fistpump.

"Just do be sure to report back to me what you find."

He already knew what he needed, and he and Cole had made preparations, but he had to at least _pretend_ to RWBY that he was responsible.

Plus, it would serve to alert him to any plan-altering changes in the timeline.

Cole turned to his team. " _You guys want to get involved with these shenanigans as well?"_

"Let's do it!"

"Sure."

"I don't see why not."

" _Looks like we're in too,"_ Cole told Ruby.

For the record, even if his team declined, he personally would have been involved, if to a lesser extent.

"Well in that case," * _yawn*_ "Back to Beacon."

I===I

"So," Weiss began, breaking the silence of the bullhead ride back. "We didn't get the chance to discuss it earlier, but… Cole... you're only… six years old?"

Cole rubbed the back of his neck before answering.

" _Its…. complicated."_

"But you're six," deadpanned Blake.

" _Well… Yes and no. This_ body _is six years old, but I have the mentality of… like, fifteen through eighteen or something."_

"How does that even work?" Pyrrha asked after a moment.

Cole shrugged. " _Hell if_ I _know."_

Weiss turned to a sleeping Ruby.

"Well, looks like I was wrong," Weiss said. " _You're_ not the oldest child to sneak into Beacon."

Weiss turned back to Cole. In a joking manner, she declared, " _You_ are!"

Yang was still snickering when they turned in for the night.

I===I

Since everyone else was in bed, Cole used the opportunity to take a walk to Beacon's gardens (which somehow always manages to stay intact despite the… nature **[**]** … of the school).

He knew the importance of taking some time off. Gazing at the broken moon, he took the opportunity to wonder… what the _hell_ broke it?

Eh. He'd figure it out someday.

I===I

He spent most of the night in the garden, only returning to the dorm room when dawn broke.

Cole was lost in thought still, theorizing everything from 'asteroid' to 'failed dust-nuke experiment', when he bumped into someone else headed the other way.

' _Oh, shoot.'_

Cole began fishing his scroll out of his pocket, to say sorry, but when he brought up his notepad, turning to face the student, he found himself facing a pointy, metal-tipped umbrella. Looking up towards its owner, he was faced with an unexpected sight.

' _Aw, c***.'_

Neopolitan stabbed her umbrella forward, but Cole angled his face so that the pointed tip merely glanced off his faceplate.

Annoyed at the lack of effect, she pulled back and delivered a straight kick to Cole's face. Cole managed to somewhat block the blow, but he was still unprepared.

Again, his faceplate took the brunt of the blow, but it still hurt. Growling, Cole lashed out, but Neo caught the counter on her umbrella. Shoving his arm out of the way, she took his moment of unbalancedness to send a heavy hollow straight up into the bottom of his jaw…

… if it had been tangible. Instead, Neo's foot went straight through his head, but Cole, now unaffected by the umbrella and Neo's proximity, took the opportunity to retreat and regroup. He reached for his scroll to call his team, but then realized it was laying on the ground behind Neo.

'… _how many curse words am I going to think of before this is over?'_

I===I

Neopolitan was annoyed. This was the upstart who put Roman away _and_ had the foresight to put illusion-resistant huntsmen in charge of guarding him.

Plus, Cinder had been _very_ specific about _only_ breaking his aura, instead of killing him outright. But where was the fun in that?

I===I

Ducking under a horizontal umbrella swipe, Cole lunged at the small girl, but her image shattered.

' _S***!'_

Neo's blade dug into his back, and only his aura flaring up protected Cole from being skewered.

Despite Neo's small stature, she could pack a punch. The pointy tip didn't do him any favors.

Neo drew her estoc back, stabbing again, but Cole turned and met the attack on his gauntlets, which he had (fortunately) neglected to take off the night before. Neo disappeared and Cole spun around, arms raised. Except she reappeared in the same spot, and stabbed his back again.

On the ground, his scroll began vibrating and beeping.

The screen flashed red: " _Warning! Aura Level Below True 10%!"_

As according to its programming, the customized application immediately sent messages out to The rest of CNPR, Ruby, Yang, Ozpin, and Glynda, explaining the emergency and the scroll's current location.

'…

…

 _F***!'_

Cole was full defensive now, desperately blocking attacks from Roman's right-hand, trying to not let a single attack through. Hopefully he could hold out until help arrived. Unfortunately for him, Neo noticed the buzzing scroll and decided to finish the battle. With two quick, horizontal feints, Neo tricked Cole into using both arms to defend, before stabbing inwards, performing an expertly-executed disengage to avoid his defense. The estoc slipped in between the rapidly-closing gauntlets, but the 'blade' was thin enough that it couldn't be stopped in time, and the metal point made contact with skin and fur.

Cole's aura was still strong enough to absorb the blow, but then it cracked and…

 _Shattered_

I===I

 _WARNING: AURA LEVELS ZERO_

 _EXTERNAL GRIMM ESSENCE PRESENT_

 _WARNING_

I===I

Without wasting any time, Salem dove into the renegade's mind, intent on taking this body for her use.

She found and identified the two counterparts quickly enough, the Grimm side, locked away in its cage, and the more human-like beowolf, the one currently in control.

Without any aura, it was exposed. Acting quickly, she raised an arm, and cords of liquid darkness formed in the air **[***]** , before whipping forward to wrap themselves around Cole's wrists and ankles. "You are mine _now,"_ Salem growled, tightening the vantablack cords against Cole's struggling.

I===I

Neo smirked, looking down at the writhing beowolf, and decided she wouldn't kill him, just make him _hurt_.

But then sniper bullet whizzed past her face. Jerking back in surprise, Neo turned to find teams CNPR and RWBY running toward her, furious looks on their faces.

It looked like they had just woken up and rushed over—most of them still wearing their nightclothes/pajamas!—but they had their weapons and were ready to fight.

Neo was good, but even _she_ couldn't take on these seven hell-bent trainees at once. Giving them a quick salute, she teleported away.

The seven students reached Cole, and found him on the ground, in obvious distress and/or pain.

Ruby immediately took charge of the situation. "Yang, Nora, hold him still."

The two girls got on either side of him and pinned his flailing limbs.

"Ruby, you need to see this," Ren called to her. Ruby semblance-sped to Ren's side.

It was Cole's scroll. Ruby had just finished reading the warning message flashing onscreen, when Yang called out. "Ruby, come over here… this isn't good."

Again, Ruby used her semblance to speed over to see the new development. As soon as Yang pointed it out, it was clear what the problem was. Cole's unique blue markings were fading, being replaced with the standard red ones that were emblazoned on every non-alpha beowolf.

"He's… he's going feral…" Ruby was on the verge of collapse, so Weiss took up leadership position, temporarily.

"Pyrrha, Blake, go get one of the Grimm cages from Professor Port's room. We may need it."

The two girls nodded and ran off toward the lecture halls.

"Come on Cole, fight it," Yang muttered.

I===I

Cole ripped one leg free of the restraints, but before he could claw the black substance off the other paw, more black liquid snagged the free limb and stretched taunt, restraining him once again.

He glared at Salem, who was observing his struggles smugly, Grimm-acting beowolf by her side. It would take control once he was fully caged in.

Salem snapped her fingers, and bone-like protrusions formed around him, creating a cage. The black cords released him and dissipated, turning to smoke which promptly faded away. Cole dashed to the cage bars and smashed them, but they held strong against his efforts. He was forced to watch as Salem granted the beowolf Grimm essence, making it into an Elder Grimm. The process took a long while, as it was a more thorough job, and after it was over, the Grimm bared its teeth in Cole's direction in a crude imitation of a smile, and took control.

I===I

 _While the 'Head Drama' Occurred_

Pyrrha and Glynda came over, carrying the Grimm cage using a combination of magnetism and telekinesis. Since Cole had fallen unconscious, they had no difficulty loading him in and securing the door. Taking him to the Grimm Studies classroom, they placed the cage in the back room with other Grimm kennels.

They peered through the bars, where Cole lay on the floor, still unconscious. His markings were still changing to red.

"Please get better…" Ruby whispered.

I===I

Ozpin joined them after about half an hour, having spoken with Port about the developing situation.

There would be no Grimm Studies in this classroom, and teams CNPR and RWBY would be exempted from classes today.

He also went to retrieve the bag of future papers, should the worst come to pass.

Glynda had already tried expelling the Grimm Essence, as well as simply transferring aura to Cole.

Both times, her aura had balked, and flat out refused to enter Cole.

Ruby and Yang both tried as well, hoping that the aura rejection was simply due to an aura Cole was less familiar with.

No luck.

Though they didn't know it (with the exception of Glynda), Salem didn't want any interruptions.

"It's not looking good, Ozpin," Glynda told the headmaster. "He hasn't responded to any conventional means of waking, and is refusing aura transfusions. In addition…"

She hesitated.

"His markings, they're turning red, top of his mask down."

Ozpin moved to look at the beowolf. As they watched, the last bit of blue on his mask lingered, before disappearing to red.

They held their breaths, but nothing happened.

Pyrrha broke the silence. "Is… is that—"

Cole's eyes snapped open. They were bloodred, filled with malice and hate. He trained his gaze on the nearest person–Ruby–and lunged at the bars, snapping and scratching.

" _Eek!"_ Ruby stumbled back as the cage shook from the beowolf's impact.

She and Yang realized what that meant.

Ruby turned and squeezed Yang in a tight hug, beginning to tear up. Yang returned the hug.

Cole was a joker at times, but he knew when a joke wasn't funny, and this was definitely one of the times.

Cole had gone feral.

I===I

Salem hadn't killed him. Instead, she (somehow) erected a 'screen' (really just a projection in space) that showed him what 'his' eyes could see.

Cole as forced to watch as the beowolf attacked Ruby, as well as the horror on everyone's faces when what finally happened sunk in.

' _Salem… I will escape, I will find you, and I will_ kill _you,'_ he silently vowed.

I===I

Having given a moment of silence to their fallen comrade, Ozpin opened the bag that held the vital papers. He and Glynda already made paper copies (Cole had stressed the importance of _not_ storing it on a computer), so CNPR and RWBY could have these ones.

"If I may say something," Ozpin told the group, bringing them out of their stupor. "There is something Cole wished you to know, but it would be best not to discuss it here. Glynda, if you would place this cage on lockdown and meet us in the basement…"

"Very well." Glynda proceeded to strengthen the cage, putting it in lockdown mode, which made it capable of holding in even small goliaths.

RWBY and NPR followed Ozpin to the base of Beacon Tower, where he herded them into the two elevators. Glynda quickly caught up, and took one group down. Ozpin took the other.

When NPR arrived with Ozpin, RWBY was marveling at the size of the basement.

"Woooow," said Ruby, grief momentarily forgotten. "How was this built without anyone knowing?"

"I would like to know that as well," Pyrrha added, having read up on Beacon's history before attending, and finding no mention of a basement this size.

"It was part of a cave system that was converted in secret long before this was a school, but I'm afraid that's not what we're here to discuss."

"What do you… oh, right." Ruby became somber once more.

I===I

Glynda brought some chairs from a closet that was off to the side of the hall, and the two teams sat down, facing Ozpin expectantly.

He began reading out loud:

" _If you are reading this, then it means that I am either dead, have become a feral grimm, or just am not available after the Vytal Festival is over, one way or another. I have instructed Ozpin to show you the contents of this bag should any of the aforementioned situations occur._

 _Firstly... kill me."_

Ruby gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Yang grimaced.

 _"Don't hesitate, don't hold back, kill me. I'm too dangerous to be left running around feral..._

"But..." Ruby began tearing up. "Cole..."

 _"Trust me, I don't like it either... but it may be the only way to free me, and/or protect Remnant..._

 _"With that out of the way... what you are about to read may surprise you, shock you, and generally make you question a lot of things._

" _First things first. I'm not sure if the rest of you have encountered her yet, but the one behind all the White Fang attacks on Dust shops, part of the reason for the Fang's movement towards violence, and the one ordering around Torchwick is a human woman named 'Cinder Fall.'_

" _Blake, the reason the Fang is working with a(nother) human is that Cinder committed a coup d' état against the White Fang leadership. But since her plan still involves killing humans, most of the Fang are… tolerant of this._

" _I wrote this directly after Blake ran off after the argument regarding Faunus and the White Fang, so I'll assume that's what knowledge you have so far of the situation._

" _First off, Blake ran off to Vale, you can find her at the big Schnee freighter with a ton of unloaded dust Sunday evening. Ruby, I suggest you find Penny before going to rescue Blake."_

"We already know this," Weiss said. "It already happened. But if he wrote it Friday night…"

Ozpin continued. " _And speaking of Penny, thought you might want to know, but… She's a robot."_

"...That explains _so_ much," Yang commented.

" _But she_ does _have aura, and_ is _alive, somehow. Also, Pyrrha, be extremely careful using your semblance near her. Ignorance of its affect on her caused her death the first time."_

"The… First time?"

" _I suspect you may have caught my… odd… wording there. It'll make sense shortly._

 _First, all the information you should need to defeat Cinder and her gang are written down on these papers, including her plan to topple Beacon Academy."_

" _Now, you may be curious to know_ how _I got all this information._

"Um, maybe a little," Blake commented.

" _First, so you know I'm telling the truth. One, Ozpin_ and _Glynda can vouch for me. Second… Yang and Ruby, I've lived with you long enough that, unfortunately, this method will not be as effective._

"Two... _Blake Belladonna, ex-White Fang. The last mission for the Fang you participated in was a train heist, SDC. Weiss, you know what I'm talking about. Blake, you and Adam tore through the droids, and he was going to kill the crew._

 _But you saved them. You opposed Adam's decision, and defected, while preserving the crew's lives._

Blake wasn't even _trying_ to hide her shock.

"How… all the security cameras and footage was destroyed, and only Adam was seen…"

" _Also, you may want to hide your 'secret choice' of literature better. Leaving it with the rest of your books is_ not _a safe spot_."

Blake sat bolt upright, visibly reddening.

" _Weiss Schnee, daughter of Jacques Schnee, heir to the SDC. You have a Butler, named Klein, who can change his eye color, has always been friendly to you. He's one of the few people who could make you laugh._

" _Your sister, Winter, is an Atlesian Specialist who joined the military to escape your father. That's the same reason you came to Beacon, isn't it? How many missed calls do you have from him?"_

Weiss was equally stunned.

" _Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. From the village of Kuroyuri, destroyed by a half-horse half-man Grimm, the Nuckelavee._

 _You remember the day, don't you. How could you not? You lost your parents, Ren, and you found Nora. You saved her_ life _by finding your semblance that day. I won't say more in case it dredges up too many bad memories."_

Ren ground his teeth slightly at the thought of the beast.

He didn't know how Cole had found out—he and Nora were the only two survivors—but he was willing to believe whatever Cole said next.

" _And finally, Pyrrha Nikos… You believe in destiny. Not 'predetermined inescapable fate' destiny, but rather, you believe destiny to be a final goal that you work towards your entire life."_

Pyrrha was startled at how well he'd defined her view on destiny. She was _certain_ she had never talked about it, either with her team, or on talk shows, or interviews, anywhere.

" _Now, I hope that you can accept this as proof…_

 _I am not of this world."_

"Uh, like, he's an alien?"

" _And no, not like an alien in the sense you're thinking of."_

"Oh."

" _More like… from an alternate dimension."_

"... That's _weird_ ," said Nora.

" _It's about to get weirder… Where I come from, it's a world without Grimm, but also without Semblances and without aura. It'd be nice if everything was hunky-dory over there, but… that's not important right now._

 _The thing is, over there, Beacon Academy, Vale, Remnant… even all of_ you… _don't exist. At least, not as real people._

"As real people… is he saying—"

" _Where I come from, you all are no more than characters, in a web show. And, except where I've gotten involved, it's played out exactly as it should have."_

The two teams were trying to comprehend what they were hearing.

On one hand, that claim were absolutely ridiculous! Insane!

On the other hand… he knew stuff he shouldn't have, and with startling accuracy.

To Yang and Ruby, that suddenly explained a _lot_ of inconsistencies. Like, for example, his specific choices of days to go to Vale, and then, for Ruby, how he _knew_ about Ozpin's offer to invite her to Beacon! _Or_ how he knew Penny and Sun's names before he even met them!

" _The next major event, after the dock robbery mentioned earlier, and arguably the most damaging event, is the Beacon Dance. Cinder will upload a virus into the CCT that she will use to take control of the Atlesian knights and unmanned Paladins. That's also how she finds out Penny is a robot, and pits her against Pyrrha in the singles rounds. The results are… disastrous. That's partly the reason all this is in paper. A failsafe, if Cinder succeeds there._

" _Of course, If the Vytal Festival is over, and Cinder is defeated, then you don't have to worry about this, assuming Beacon still stands._

" _Either way, get Ozpin to tell you about the Maidens and Salem. Ruby, you might be a Maiden, not 100% certain, but considering you quite literally_ froze _/will freeze a Grimm Dragon the size of Beacon Tower_ solo _, I think it's a reasonable guess._

"I _what?"_

" _So, inspect the contents of this bag, and, if necessary, carry out my plan to beating Cinder. It's detailed, so see what you can do. Survive this time. I'd rather keep Penny and Pyrrha alive, and Yang with_ both _arms."_

Ozpin closed the binder holding his copy of the documents, and handed them the bag of originals.

"Feel free to ask any questions."

I===I

It was late that night when the two teams came out of the tower in a daze, overloaded with information.

"Why did he never tell us?" Ruby asked. "Didn't he trust us?"

"I don't think it was a matter of trust," Ren reasoned. "His initial, _and_ modified, plan both called, often times, for us to act as we did. We likely would have acted differently had we known what we do now."

"Like our argument," Blake added, motioning to Weiss. "He knew I would run, and let it happen, because I needed to meet Sun, and you needed time to re-adjust."

"He knew this was coming for _six years_ ," Weiss said. "He _knew_ I would run into Penny before she was even _made_!"

"He knew who I was before initiation," Pyrrha added. "Yet he pretended not to."

"Because that… 'Jaune' guy apparently didn't so he had to fill in a gap. His original plan, he planned to know who you were but not be annoying about it."

"Even so…"

Silence reigned as they continued to their dorm for the night.

Eventually, Pyrrha broached the topic that nobody wanted to bring up. "I… I died."

"But you're not—er, won't," Ruby replied. "And now we have a chance to stop it! Cole laid out a plan, and once we rescue him, somehow, we can go through this _together_!"

"Yeah!" Nora pumped a fist in the air. "Let's save Penny and Pyrrha and Beacon!"

"And if it makes you feel any better," Weiss told Pyrrha, "The way he spoke of your actions, you performed extremely well and gave her a _lot_ of trouble.

"Thank you, Ruby, Nora, Weiss… but I must ask, Weiss, did you really have such sinister thoughts about joining my team?" Pyrrha asked.

"That wasn't even _remotely_ true!" Weiss defended instantly.

Everyone else gave her deadpanned looks.

"Well… maybe a _little_ bit true," She admitted.

"So… what now?" Ruby asked, after a moment of silence.

Before they could come up with any more plans, their scrolls buzzed.

It was a message from Ozpin: " _Cole has escaped."_

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] *Lenny Face***

 **[**] I actually didn't notice the pun till I was checking for errors. I do that occasionally.**

 **[***] If you've played/seen the game 'Prey' (the one in space w/neuromods), imagine the darkness cords look like mimic arms.**

 **I will refer to the feral Cole (the one in control) as "Coal".**

 _ **Loudspeaker blares:**_

 **Right, so, now you see** _ **why**_ **I hid in the Bunker. I'll come out when** _ **all**_ **the pitchforks and ICBMs are put away.**

 **Grimm down, RWBY and NPR know the truth, and this story is getting long enough that working on it causes google docs (mobile) to crash occasionally.**

… **yay.**

 **Also, that bullhead-powered Nora tho. If** _ **one**_ **dust-induced** **lightning strike was able to do what it did** **to her… imagine an entire bullhead's worth of dust-induced power.**

 **Also, the teachers took so long to arrive because** **Cole was close to the dorms when he was attacked, which meant they had farther to go than the teams.**

 **The reason for this sudden... major setback... for Cole and company is thanks to a valuable dramaticization motto I learned from a fellow writer on this site... Defenestrator (and by extension, Fiersomest): When all else fails, make things worse. So thank them for Cole going feral :)**

 **Also, remember how everything in Remnant can also be a gun?**

…

 **Search (on Wikipedia or Google, whatever) "Elgin Pistol."**

 **Knife that's also a pistol… guns that are also swords…**

 **Brass-knuckle pistol**

 **How did I not know these existed.**

— **dragoncraftertex**

 **Edit: Guesman brought up a good point, Cole now requests that RWBY and NPR kill him.**

 _ ***static as transmission ends***_


	9. Confront the Bull, Ignite the Wolf

**I'll come out of the bunker once this chapter is over.**

 **Trust me… you guys'll like this one.**

 **I hope.**

… **well, I experienced a 900% increase in Review count, so thanks for all the love/hate support XD**

 **Speaking of reviews…**

 _ **nopeite nopeite nope:**_ **Oh. Really? Yay :D (also** _ **how**_ **did you review twice on the same chapter? O-o)**

 _ **Draxinus:**_ ***Evil grin***

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **You, sir, are correct about reviews being author fuel!**

 **And if Salem** _ **could**_ **get in Cole's mind…** _ **gods**_ **that would be confusing to write/plan out.**

 **As for the mental battle… at time of writing (Monday after previous chapter :P) I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete.**

 **Also, am I really close to 'Search and Destroy'?** _ ***checks***_ **Huh. Only, like, 34 favs behind (at time of writing)**

 **Hey, remember when I said the Salem problem would be resolved this chap or next?**

 **Yeah… I was wrong.**

…

 **I** _ **planned**_ **to end it next chap buuut… things to out of hand (in-story) so…**

 **And if you liked Nora on an electricity high… read on, good sir.**

 _ **nopeite nopeite nope (again, somehow):**_ **To spaaaaaaaace!**

 _ **Guesman:**_ … **you make a good point. I'll change that.**

 _ **rocketmce:**_ ****** indeed.**

 _ **EWR115:**_ ***Flips switch to 'high'***

 _ **Mew Shadowfang:**_ **Yeah, Defenestrator's and Fiercesomest's motto is fun to write by :D**

 **Actually, I debated putting in the 'special literary choice' due to its… nature.**

 **And people weren't exactly '** _ **mad,**_ ' **per se (except one guest who was all 'no Jaune, I'm out'), but the sudden drop in review count (7/8 per chap to 2/1) raised the possibility.**

 _ **Vashnee**_ **: One new chapter, just as requested.**

 **END OF DA REVIEWS! (So many, thanking yous! :D) ONTO THE STORY!**

 **IX=====Chapter 9: Confront the Bull, Ignite the Wolf=====IX**

Salem was ecstatic. Not since the fall of Mountain Glenn had she allowed herself a true, genuine smile. And the Renegade Grimm's soul, aside from aiding her Elder Grimm in combat, would continuously dwell in sorrow for any actions done using _its_ body, feel fear of what could come, and experience hate towards her for putting it in that position… all feelings which would further strengthen and feed the very Grimm that kept it locked down. That old fool Ozpin hadn't thought it would be able to use its semblance so quickly, and felt safe enough to leave it alone, albeit in a cage.

But now the Grimm was free, and hers to do with as she wished.

I===I

Ruby skidded around a corner, re-engaging her semblance to speed down the corridor leading to the classroom. The others weren't far behind, and they tumbled into the lecture room, finding Ozpin and Glynda looking at a scroll.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, no longer showing any sign of exhaustion.

Ozpin turned to face the girls. "I am afraid that Cole used his semblance to escape the cage. The last the cameras saw, he was headed Southeast."

"Southeast…" Pyrrha mused. "Mountain Glenn?"

"Could be," Blake added. "With Torchwick to be sent to Atlas, the White Fang is down a leader. He could, under… Salem's… influence, take orders from Cinder."

"We have to go save him!" Nora and Ruby immediately yelled, raising their respective weapons.

"But can we?" Weiss asked. "There is a _very real_ possibility that he's gone forever… the Cole we know could be, for all intents and purposes, dead. And he _did_ tell us to kill him."

"Perhaps he isn't dead, or at least not entirely," Ren spoke up, "You said he used his semblance, correct Professor?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then his soul _must_ still exist in some form or another. We just need a way to… give it control."

"Unfortunately," replied Ozpin, "Salem, or simply the Grimm's, mind, in that position of power, may be too much for Cole to overcome."

"What about the aura-transfer machine?" Yang asked. "If we were to trap Cole in there, remove the soul from that body—"

"And transfer it to what?" Weiss countered. "We can't send it into another Grimm, that ends with the same problem. And I highly doubt _anyone_ would agree to giving him Amber's body, in terms of ethics _or_ awkwardness!"

The room fell silent. "Well, one thing we _may_ be able to do," Glynda began, "if we put him _in_ the transfer machine, we can put him in a stasis, to prevent his escape, yet not kill him, while we look for solutions."

"Not to play Devil's advocate," Weiss said, "But don't stasis chambers not work on Grimm?"

"It would put his soul, directly, in stasis, if done right, and hopefully, by extension, the Grimm."

"Well…" Ruby spoke up. "That's the plan then? Go south, to Mountain Glenn, stop the train, and _recapture_ Cole, then put him in stasis until we can think of something else?"

Everyone nodded. "Very well," Ozpin said, "You all go to bed, and I'll make all the necessary preparations for tomorrow."

"Yeah," yawned Ruby, "Using my semblance so much made… me a… bit…" She collapsed into Yang's arms, snoring softly.

I===I

Fortunately for their grades, Ozpin re-arranged their schedule so that this trip would count for their first mission's grade, so no worries there.

The students themselves, after eating a light breakfast, the students rapidly got ready for the mission, for possible combat with Coal **[The feral Grimm in control of Cole]** , and for almost-guaranteed combat with the White Fang.

The bullheads that were to take them were prepped and ready for flight by the time RWBY and NPR reached the docks. Professor Glynda, due to the severity of the situation, was to accompany them.

Ozpin finished speaking with Glynda and turned to the teams.

"Good luck."

With those final words of encouragement(?), he turned and began walking back toward Beacon.

"We're gonna need it," Weiss muttered.

Blake couldn't help but to agree with Weiss. Fighting the Elder Deathstalker was a nightmare, and _it_ didn't have aura or a semblance. Plus, Cole was one of the top three in their Combat Class, but if he had the same skill, but with killing intent, _and_ several White Fang fire squads to help him out, they might be in for a difficult fight.

I===I

"Approaching drop zone," the pilots called out.

The students began running final checks on their weapons, unbuckling safety restraints and chambering rounds.

As soon as the bay doors opened, RWBY, NPR, and Glynda leapt out of their aircraft, weapons at the ready. The instant they touched the ground, they were set upon by Grimm.

Not that they were very effective.

Between two teams ready for revenge against Salem and a highly skilled and powerful huntress with a mission, the pack of beowolves didn't stand a chance.

They neglected using ranged weaponry, however, to avoid unnecessary noise to alert other nearby Grimm, or the White Fang. With the area clear, a bullhead landed, dropping off a large package. A police-use portable aura-suppressing cage. Coal wouldn't escape from _here_.

Thanks to Cole, they knew the train was located in the tunnels, as well as general area of the entrance, or at least the cave-in one. They moved quietly through the streets, avoiding confrontation where they could. Using a map Cole had cross-referenced with his memory of the episode, RWBY, NPR, and Glynda found the location of the pothole. Actually, Nora found a second one, when she fell in, but Pyrrha was quick enough catch her by her hammer.

" _Thanks_!" whispered Nora. Even she recognized there was sometimes pros to going the stealthily, and refrained from shouting and hugging Pyrrha with the strength of an Ursa.

The sun was high enough that they were able to see down the hole. It was directly over an underground building, which was high enough to make it a plausible entrance. "Ropes!" Glynda ordered in a low voice Glynda.

Immediately, Yang set down her backpack, opening it to reveal several coils of rope. She pulled them out, and handed one to Ruby and Pyrrha each, while keeping one for herself.

They quickly unspooled them, and secured them to the remains of support struts that still jutted out of the ground nearby. Normally, or would've been fine to simply jump down, but that was noisy.

Yang, Pyrrha, and Ruby were the first ones to go down. As Cole had detailed in his most recent version of the plan, Pyrrha could quickly disarm any nearby White Fang, to prevent gunshots, and Yang, being the best at hand-to-hand combat, could follow up by disabling them. Should they enter onto a rooftop, Ruby's sniper rifle would serve to counter any White Fang snipers, as well as locate potential targets.

Nobody showed up, and no alarms were sounded, so it seemed they were still as of yet undetected.

Yang motioned for everyone else to come down, and in threes, they repelled quietly down the ropes. As the rest of the team touched down, Ruby hunched over her sniper, gazing down the scope.

"I don't see Cole," Ruby said.

"He might not be out in the open," replied Weiss. "Alright, everyone know their roles?"

There was a round of affirmations.

"Good, then—"

She was cut off as the rooftop access door opened, and a White Fang grunt came stumbling out looking sick. The group instinctively backed away, before he promptly vomited. He hadn't gotten a good look, but his head was hung, hands on his knees, recovering. "Note of warning," the grunt said, still catching his breath, "John spiked the punch, and he used the strong stuff."

Then he looked up and realized who he was talking to. "Ah, c—"

Yang knocked him out cold.

"Let's go," Pyrrha said, and entered the doorway, shield up. Yang followed. A door opened, and then some plastic-on-tile clattering, the breaking of glass, and a few yelps (not the animal kind).

It became quiet quickly, and and Pyrrha reemerged. "Clear, but someone might find them. Let's go."

Ruby remained at her position, scanning the people below.

Blake leapt to a nearby roof, weapon drawn and ready. She would find the lookouts and alarm-ringers and take them out, then use the underground communication towers (couldn't connect to CCT, but could work as a LAN for the scrolls) the White Fang set up to give them a private communication channel amongst themselves.

Everyone else followed Pyrrha into the building. They met up with Yang and made their way down towards the ground floor. There they would wait until they got the signal from Blake.

I===I

Blake surveyed the underground cavern, taking in the train that was being connected to boxcars, to be filled with White Fang soldiers or Dust-powered bombs.

It was only the engine, a open-air train car with Paladins, and a couple troop transport boxcars at this point, but she could see the idea behind it.

Blake was disgusted that the White Fang would _do_ something like this. Releasing Grimm into the city? In addition to a level _nine_ Grimm attack? Aside from the fact that the Grimm attacked humans _and_ faunus alike, the thought that they were being used as just tools to gain power, for Cinder, or to kill anything human or faunus, in Salem's case…

Blake shook her head and returned her focus to the task at hand.

It took about half an hour to take care of all the alarm-ringers throughout the visible cavern. Fortunately for Blake, the communications tower was quite easy to find, once she found a map at one of the guard's posts. And, even more conveniently, it also housed the PA system.

Quietly, making use of the abundant shadows throughout the cavern, she made her way toward the building that housed the control center.

There were two guards outside the doors, chatting.

"I'm just saying, I don't care _if_ Violet is a snake faunus, there is _no way_ she can eat spaghetti without getting some sauce on her face."

"I'm telling you, I lost lien over that bet!"

Fortunately for her, the guards were too busy arguing to notice her until she was on top of them.

Literally.

She dropped from a floor up onto of one, hitting him in the head with the hilt of Gambol Shroud, knocking him unconscious.

"Hey, who—" the other guard began to raise his gun, but Blake tackled him and smashed his head into the concrete wall.

He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Hey, everything alright out there?" the door opened, and a faunus poked his head out, getting a glimpse of the unconscious guards, before he to was taken out.

' _Amateur.'_

You don't open the door until _after_ the guards say their fine. Still, it made Blake's job easier. Dragging the unconscious bodies into the room, she shut the door.

I===I

Ruby got up the instant her scroll vibrated. Putting in her dusttooth **[*]** earbud, she answered the call. It was Blake. "We're all connected now. Phase two."

"Got it. Still no sign of Cole," she responded.

"Well, let's get started," Glynda spoke up.

I===I

Adam Taurus was _not_ in a good mood. First, his revolution for equality was taken over by a few upstart humans, then said humans forced him to work with _Roman Torchwick_ , a semi-racist criminal, and _now_ he's required to cooperate with the very _enemy of humanity_ (and faunus kind) _itself!_

The beowolf next to him surveyed the nervous White Fang soldiers loading dust, bombs, and weapons into the train cars. He and Adam were situated in a room that overlooked most of the operation. "How long until we go?" Adam asked rhetorically.

" _When Cinder gives the word._ We _only need to be here until preparations are completed."_

Oh yeah. The thing could _f***ing talk!_

"Right…" Adam scowled. He also didn't how smart it was. If it got hungry, it probably wouldn't have a problem luring away someone and… feasting.

"The sooner I can get out of this hellhole—"

He was interrupted by the deafening sound of stone hitting the ground, magnified by the tunnel walls. The landslide, or cave-in, or whatever, was out of view, however.

Coal growled lowly, and exited the room via the window. There was no glass, long-since broken by the Grimm that used to populate the dead city. Cries of surprise sounded when Coal hit the ground, but he ignored them, continuing towards the source of the sound. His aide, who understood VSL, followed him nervously.

I===I

Gunfire was coming from the direction of the landslide, but nobody at the train could tell who it was.

They still looked over anyway, wondering what was going on.

I===I

Blake watched as the majority of faunus looked to see what was going on. Glynda had collapsed a section of roof, out of sight, allowing a couple packs of beowolves and a small flock of nevermores a to enter. The gunfire and sound of collapsing stone had the attention of every faunus present, at least temporarily.

"Go!" Blake whispered into her earbud's mic, and a streak of red and yellow zipped to one of the train cars.

I===I

"Ugh," Ruby said, panting slightly, "You're heavy, Yang!"

The blonde brawler just rolled her eyes, beginning to unlatch a couple large pieces of machinery. "Aren't you constantly swinging Crescent Rose around like it's nothing? It's bigger than you!"

"You're more awkward to carry," Ruby defended, clambering into the vehicle. "Ok, how does this work…"

As Pyrrha watched, a couple Paladins on the train car suddenly powered up and enclosed their pilots. Ruby and Yang, now with the element of surprise and a _hell_ of a lot of firepower, switched the mech's weapons to 'rockets.'

The controls were surprisingly easy to get used to, and within seconds, several salvos of missiles flew out and smashed into Paladins being used for loading supplies, effectively taking out the enemy mechs.

Instantly, Ruby and Yang were being peppered by gunfire, but the armor of their bots were able to weather the Dust storm quite well. They moved away from the train, using the mounted gun-hands to return fire. With attention drawn away from the train, the rest of the group rushed towards the front of said train.

I===I

Adam cursed, barreling down the stairwell, hand on his chokutō's hilt. He didn't know _who_ decided to interfere with their operation, but whoever decided to mess with the White Fang would soon regret their decision.

I===I

With Yang and Ruby running interference, the rest of the group should be free to pull up rails, dent train wheels, sabotage the train engine, anything to keep the train from going anywhere.

After Coal was captured, a team of proper huntsmen, or maybe the military, could come in and secure the dust and weapons.

But for now, they had to focus on making sure that train didn't move.

Pyrrha and Nora began tearing up and damaging the rails and critical external train parts, and Blake, Ren, and Weiss entered to mess with the internal structure however they could.

Glynda was assisting Nora in pulling up a steel rail when she heard a swish from behind. Acting immediately, she threw up a shield, and it cracked under the pressure of the blow that it took.

Turning, she found herself face-to-face with Adam Taurus.

I===I

Adam kept his face passive, but was roiling with fury inside. Humans! Humans had come to stop the train from leaving, but no matter. They would die before they could report back to the kingdoms.

Unfortunately, he did not have enough built-up power to use his semblance, so he settled for a standard slash.

Unfortunately, it seemed the witch heard him coming, because out of nowhere, a shield appeared and blocked the attack. Granted, he managed to crack the hard-light barrier, but now the element of surprise was gone. Plus, Glynda Goodwitch wasn't known as one of the world's strongest huntresses for nothing.

He dropped back into a combat stance, re-sheathing his blade, but keeping his hand on the hilt. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow. He fired Blush, sending Wilt flying out of the barrel, blade moving almost too fast to see.

Despite this, Goodwitch was able to block the blow an another shield, before downsizing it and sending it hurtling towards Adam.

The faunus was able to deflect the projectile into the ground, cracking the concrete below him.

Glynda seized on this opportunity and raised the shattered stone from underneath Taurus, but he backflipped off the rising ground, cursing, and raised his sword into a defensive position.

By now, Pyrrha and Nora had noticed the fighting. Feeling the tracks were sufficiently damaged to prevent the train from moving very far, they moved to assist Glynda.

"No," the huntress said. "Stay back. Ranged support only."

Nodding, the two trainees converted their weapons to their gun formats, taking aim.

I===I

Coal was annoyed. First, the part of the cavern collapsed, allowing some Grimm in (he quickly gained control of them when he arrived at the scene), but _then_ , gunshots and explosions rang out from back by the train.

Rounding the corner of the building, it became immediately clear what was going on.

It was kind of hard to miss the rampant Paladins.

Cole gave a series of subtle signals to the now-tamed Grimm following him. The flock of Nevermore took flight off the beowolves' backs.

The beowolves entered the buildings, disappearing from view.

I===I

Through the mental livestream Salem had provided him with, Cole took notice of the rogue Paladins blasting away at the White Fang's forces. While he couldn't see the pilots, he had a feeling that RWBY and (C)NPR had begun his plan.

I===I

The White Fang who were lying on the ground (weak aura depleted or, in a couple rare cases, dead) far outnumbered those hiding behind crates, popping out to take (ineffective) potshots at the mechs.

Whenever a White Fang member stuck their head out, Ruby and Yang returned fire.

The girls in the mechs wielding heavy cannons convinced the Fang to stay hidden. Coal held no such fear. He growled lowly, and sprung forward at lightning speeds.

Ruby noticed him immediately, but initially misidentified him as a normal beowolf. She sent a couple rounds his way, but the instant he deflected them off his gauntlets, Ruby took notice.

"Yang…"

Yang looked away from providing suppressing fire and noticed. The beowolf quickly approaching.

"Not good, _not good!"_

I===I

Cole noticed Ruby's hesitance.' _No, don't hold back…'_

I===I

Yang open fired with the main cannons, but a quick sidestep from Coal allowed the shell to fly past harmlessly.

Seeing the casual dodge, Yang realized that the beowolf was much faster than Cole had ever been.

Coal snarled and raced towards the mechs on four legs, moving fast enough to be visibly blurring.

Yang, being the closer of the two, reacted instantly, reversing the Paladin's gun hand so the fist was now exposed.

She swung at the incoming beowolf, but he leapt up over the speeding fist and landed on the Paladin's arm. Racing up the mechanical limb, Coal raised a paw to claw into pneumatics holding the cockpit cover in place.

Before he could strike, however, a sniper round smashed into his side. He turned, to find Ruby staring down her scope, having opened the cockpit to use her more accurate sniper.

Of course, Cole's aura protected Coal quite well, so the round did no real damage. Coal roared, and the flock of small Nevermores that had been hanging overhead, unseen and quiet, now shrieked, diving down towards Ruby's open cockpit. Yang used the moment of distraction to open the shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. Coal turned to find himself facing a cluster of rockets ready to fire.

Coal leapt off the the Paladin to avoid the salvo of rockets. The homing missiles identified a Grimm threat and homed in on their target.

Coal leapt towards the nearest one, bouncing off and turning incorporeal as soon as the rocket's proximity sensor was triggered.

The explosion sparked a chain reaction, which took out the rest of the missiles.

O=O

Seeing the approaching Nevermores (tiny ones, fortunately), Ruby fired off a couple rounds with one hand (gun stock braced against the metal behind her seat) as she fumbled to find the 'close cockpit' button.

She found it and slammed the button, collapsing Crescent Rose as pneumatic pistons shut the metal sheets that protected the pilot, before the flock of Nevermores could reach her.

One was close enough that it broke its neck on impact with the unyielding steel, but the rest managed to veer away in time.

They squawked furiously, flying around in the camera's view, raking their talons ineffectual against the outer armor.

I===I

Blake took one last moment to slice through an important-looking cable before deciding this train wasn't going anywhere.

"That was just the power line to the train horn, you know." Blake turned to find Weiss at the end of the small corridor.

Blake shrugged. "That'll annoy some overeager horn spammer."

Weiss rolled her eyes "I think we've done enough in here," she continued. "Let's get out and help Yang and Ruby."

Blake nodded in agreement, making her way to the back of the train engine. She exited the door, but when she turned to see how Glynda, Ren, and Pyrrha were doing, she froze.

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, behind Blake.

"Adam…"

Weiss scowled. She remembered what Adam had done in the 'canon' timeline.

Weiss moved next to Blake to see what was going on.

I===I

Having taken several hits, he now had enough stored energy to use his semblance effectively. He leapt back to avoid a grenade, and re-sheathed his blade.

Glynda frowned. She had already established that attacks using iaido were easily met with a shield that, while he could crack on a heavy blow, Adam could not break.

Pyrrha and Nora had their weapons at the ready, aiming towards the radicalist.

Acting in one swift motion, Adam unsheathed his blade with an assist from Blush, and channeled his semblance into his blade, creating a strong attack that could kill an Elder Grimm.

But, even as he moved forwards at lightning speeds, he caught sight of someone.

Blake.

She stood, eyes wide in horror, recognizing the strength behind his semblance-enhanced attack. And standing next to a _Schnee!_

O=O

As soon as Glynda saw Adam move, she created a shield. But to her surprise and horror, the crimson blade shattered the projection like it was glass.

However, he seemed distracted by something behind her, and stumbled ever so slightly, yet it sufficiently altered his course enough that Glynda was able to sidestep. Even so, the speeds Adam attained allowed him to barely clip her shoulder with his chokutō, yet even the glancing blow was enough to shatter her aura, and give her a shallow cut. She stumbled backwards, wincing in surprise. With her aura shattered, she was nigh defenseless.

Fortunately for her, Adam ignored Glynda in favor of his old partner.

"My love…" Adam said, "Why must you hurt me like this… you left me… for a _Schnee?"_

"Stuff it, Adam!"

Weiss looked at Blake in surprise. According to Cole, Blake had never been this directly confrontational against Adam.

Adam was just as surprised. "My… my darling, I—"

Blake was furious. She remembered Adam's purpose here—even if it _was_ originally Torchwick in charge of the train—as well as what he had done/would do to Beacon.

And she would _not_ run and watch him hurt her friends.

So she interrupted Adam with a gesture. A gesture that involved one hand, and one digit.

Despite the situation, Glynda's teacher instincts kicked in. "Ms. _Belladonna!_ "

Before Blake, Glynda, or Adam could act further, however, a large hammer smashed into Adam's side and sent him straight into a building, stone dust billowing out of the hole.

The group looked to Nora.

"Do you think his legs are broken?" She asked.

I===I

Yang scowled as another swing missed the agile beowolf. With her right mech's arm a fist, and her left a cannon, she should've been able to have subdued Cole by now. This mech operated on literal _video game_ controls **[**]**! Cole was the only one aside from Ruby who could beat her at FPS's, but _he_ wasn't in the mech.

She fired the main cannon, sending several high-caliber shells whizzing towards Coal.

He ducked underneath the shots, lunging in towards for another attempt at disabling them mech. Yang tried to smash him with the gun mid-air, but Coal turned incorporeal mid-air, allowing the arm to pass right through. Unfortunately for him, he missed the single missile coming from the side. It exploded on him point blank, and sent Coal barreling in Ruby's direction.

Ruby was busy trying to swat away the nevermores hanging around in the cameras' view. They suddenly scattered, but Ruby didn't realize why until something hit the mech from behind.

Coal roared, and from the buildings near Yang, a small pack of beowolves poured out, making a beeline straight towards Yang. She noticed them almost to late, focused as she was on Coal, and open fired on the incoming Grimm. One was blasted away, but her hurried potshots missed the majority, and they lunged, clambering onto the robotic shell. Yang took out a second wolf with a mid-air punch, but the rest were too close for any effective counterattack.

O==O

Coal glared at the second Paladin, the one that housed Ruby. From within the metal suit, Ruby looked back at Coal, tearing up slightly, seeing the familiar beowolf, now forced to do horrible things.

Coal could feel the sorrow wafting off the human inside its metal shell. He growled and leapt forward. Ruby was forced react, sending twin blasts from the arm-mounted cannons. They missed, and Coal landed on the mech. Ruby tried to repeat Yang's missile strategy, but as soon as the missile covers opened, Coal reached in and clawed gouges into the thinner steel of the miniature silos, rendering the missiles inoperable.

Ruby grimaced as warning signs reported the disablement of the homing missiles.

Coal, now virtually unchallenged, tore into the joint at the right shoulder.

The industrial-strength steel shrieked as it tore, exposing delicate wires and hosing. Reaching in, he tore them out.

Inside the cockpit, alarms blared as the right arm became unresponsive. Acting quickly, Ruby sped-read a manual before flicking a switch and smashing a button.

Coal fell to the ground, along with the mechanical arm, as the arm detached from the Paladin. Likely a design choose for attaching different arm types, it now saved Ruby from having a large, heavy, deadweight on the right side.

The Paladin immediately adjusting to the uneven weight, Ruby turned to the fallen limb and fired several blasts. Coal dodged them, but they hit the arm—specifically the ammo chamber—and the unfired Dust round went up. The beowolf was sent tumbling back, but Ruby had underestimated the force of the explosion. Ruby's Paladin stumbled backwards, joints sparking.

It righted itself, but the mech was slow to respond, and Ruby had a feeling the damage was severe.

The blaring alarms and flashing red lights did nothing to her suspicious.

I===I

Cole was exhausted, even though he hadn't done anything directly. The fight with the two Paladins had used up most of his aura, between a direct missile blast and the large explosion from the arm. It wouldn't take much…

I===I

Yang grabbed a beowolf trying to dig into her suit's arm, using it to bat off a second before hurling it away without really looking where it was going.

I===I

… for it to break. The beowolf Yang threw slammed into an unsuspecting Coal, and his aura shattered.

Well then.

Coal didn't care about the lack of aura. He knew, from the experiences of other Beowolves, the limits of his body's resistance, reinforced as it was by Salem's mettling. A point-blank shot from the Paladin's cannon would hurt, but Coal could survive it.

So, he attacked.

O==O

While Ruby was busy assessing the damage, Coal ran forward on all fours, for extra speed, and smashed full force into the Paladin.

Damaged and unbalanced as it was, it fell over. Now on top, Coal tore into any exposed cracks he could find, ripping out wires and mechanical parts.

Inside, the screens all showed three words: " _Total System Failure."_

There was a big pullable handle, labeled " _Manual Eject."_

Ruby pulled it.

Tiny shaped charges blasted simultaneously around the edges of the metal plates that made up the cockpit, and it, as well as Coal, who was standing on top of the cockpit, were sent flying off to one side. The seat Ruby was sitting in was also ejected, straight up due to the Paladin's position, but Ruby leapt out of the seat, ignoring the Dust pistol attached to the chain in favor of Crescent Rose. Quickly making her way off the sparking and smoking remains of the Paladin, Ruby shifted Crescent arose into its sniper form, keeping it ready to fire.

She quickly found Coal, dazed, and struggling to lift the cockpit cover off his body.

Ruby raised her sniper rifle and looked down the scope, but hesitated.

Her crosshairs were dead on the Beowolf's head, but she couldn't bring herself to shoot.

Even though he looked like every other beowolf out there, aside from his gauntlets, and even though he was Cole was, to her knowledge, essentially _dead_ , she couldn't bring herself to make the shot.

Her hesitation cost her.

Coal, with one final heave, shoved the cockpit cover to the side, and got up.

Ruby saw the action and instinctively fired, but a movement of Coal's arms was sufficient to deflect the bullet.

Two more shots.

Coal blocked them with ease. Hurriedly, Ruby released four more shots. Pulling the trigger once more yielded nothing but clicks.

At first she was confused—she should've had three more shots!—but then she remembered, she had used a few earlier against Coal and the nevermores!

This realization came too late, and before she could switch out magazines **[***]** , Coal rushed Ruby. She swiped her scythe horizontally, and Coal caught the blow on one gauntlet, stopping her movement, before reaching over to grab the blade and rip it from Ruby's hands and tossing away towards a small group of White Fang grunts cowering behind a crate.

Ruby _had_ been cajoled into learning hand-to-hand combat by Cole (bribing her with a dog they were already going to get? How dare he!) but she wouldn't be able to take on the three grunts at once, especially with one of them being an enormous bear faunus.

Ruby threw a punch, which Cole blocked before counterattacking with a straight jab. Ruby blocked the blow, struggling under his strength.

I===I

"No…" Cole muttered, watching Ruby struggle to keep off the beowolf. Ruby wasn't helpless in hand-to-hand combat, but she was nowhere _near_ as good as Yang or Coal, who specifically chose specialized in that area of combat. And centuries worth of Beowolf experience (given to Coal by Salem herself) _definitely_ left a relative newbie fistfighter in the dust… or the grave.

But Cole was too exhausted from aura depletion to _do_ anything.

I===I

Yang noticed Ruby's ordeal, and a quick scan of the Paladin HUD ( wirelessly connected to her scroll) revealed Ruby's aura to be fast approaching the red.

At this point, she made a decision. Yes, the plan was to capture Cole and give him back control.

Yes, Ruby— _and_ Yang herself—would forever hate her for what she was about to do.

But she would _not_ loose someone else.

Yelling, Yang grabbed one of the beowolves blocking her forward cameras and turned to begin running towards where Cole and Ruby fought.

She was too inaccurate to trust herself with the main cannons, and any remaining missiles had too large an Area of Effect—the explosion would be as deadly to Ruby as it was to Coal, with her aura as low as it was.

A beowolf ran in front of her to intercept her, but it's badly-timed leap ended with its head going into the closing knee joint.

Its mask shattered, and a bone shard got caught in an important gear. The fast-moving Paladin, now severely unbalanced, toppled forward, trapping a freely-cursing Yang struggling to get the damaged arms moving, to at least move roll the Paladin over so as to eject.

Coal gave a feral grin, and let loose with a devastating combo of slashes and jabs, each hit taking a chunk of Aura.

One final right swipe broke through her aura, leaving shallow scratches on her right cheek.

Ruby fell to the ground backwards, breathing heavily and slowly backing away from Coal

Growling lowly, Coal stalked forward slowly, knowing that his victory was at hand.

Ruby's eyes widened as she was forced to stop upon bumping into the wreckage of her Paladin.

Yang's Paladin was moving, but the remaining beowolves and nevermores were actively working to halt her efforts, dogpiling (pun not intended) on the back of the machine in unbalancing locations, attempting to knock loose cameras, etc.

Glynda and her team were too far away, and had likely not noticed her predicament.

And Cole… Cole wasn't in control.

I===I

"No!" Coal roared, slamming against the bars that kept him trapped in his own body, that separated him from the beowolf that was about to kill Ruby.

" _No!"_

I===I

Coal closed the distance, opening his jaws.

I===I

The barriers shattered. The bone cages that held him trapped cracked and broke.

Without taking a moment wondering how, or even spending a _split second_ to celebrate his escape, he lunged at the beowolf currently in charge of his body.

I===I

Ruby looked away and closed her eyes, fully expecting to feel sharp teeth closing her neck.

She only felt the hot breath of the beowolf. Cracking open her eyes, she looked down to see Coal's teeth but inches from her throat. They stayed there, but Ruby dared not move.

I===I

Coal yelped in surprise as Cole tackled it. Cole slashed at his enemy's exposed stomach, but was forced off. The elder Grimm shifted its stance, now back on all fours, ready to fight Cole. But while Coal was distracted waiting for Cole to make the first move, Cole instead focused on something else.

I===I

Ruby _eep_ ed as the beowolf suddenly stumbled backwards, barely able to stand.

It raised its eyes to Ruby. One remained fiery red, filled with rage at being denied its prey, but the other glowed a soft blue.

Cole's eyes had been black, when he was in control, but somehow, Ruby knew it was him. Even so, a reddish light was rapidly returning to the eye, but Cole managed to sign, " _Run…"_

Ruby got to her feet immediately but didn't go.

"But—"

" _No! I can't hold it off forever! GO!"_

With one last forlorn look, Ruby began backing away.

I===I

Cole fell back, pinned to the ground by the Elder Grimm. He was exhausted from aura depletion, and this Grimm had been given a mental boost by Salem herself. This was a fight he couldn't win. Oh, they wouldn't kill him. If Cole died, the Coal lost his access to a semblance and aura shielding. But Ruby was safe, and that was what mattered.

I===I

Yang saw her sister's aura level—or lack thereof—and heard the growling of the beowolf, through their still-linked scrolls, as well as the lack of sound from Ruby.

In that moment, Salem herself would not have been able to stop Yang.

The downed Paladin _exploded_ , metal shrapnel shredding the nearest beowolves.

Yang's semblance raged, her hair glowing like the sun.

The Grimm that survived the blast began to flee. The remaining White Fang members were ready to surrender right there and then.

But Yang didn't about the White Fang waving the metaphorical white flag **[…]** , or the Grimm fleeing from her presence.

.

She only cared about saving Ruby.

.

Yang's yell echoed through the cavern as she raced towards Coal and Ruby with speeds to rival Ruby's semblance. Coal barely had time to raise his gauntlets before Yang reached them. It was rather ineffective, however, as the pure strength behind the blow threw Coal straight into a building behind him, sending him crashing through the stone. Coal's natural armor was tough enough to take it, and Cole's bust of determination to save his sister had revitalized his soul somewhat, giving Coal some aura to work with. He was far from fresh, granted, but still.

I===I

"Y… Yang?" Ruby almost whispered, amazed.

"Get out of here," Yang growled, "Your aura is depleted."

Yang noticed the cuts on Ruby's cheek, and her semblance burned brighter.

A roar from inside the shadowy structure, and two burning eyes through the dust in the air were all it took to persuade Ruby.

She nodded began running to the front of the train, to meet with the others.

I===I

 _A bit earlier_

Blake and Pyrrha slowly approached the hole Adam had made in the building. Blake couldn't see anything in there, despite her night vision, and Pyrrha couldn't sense any metal from his gun.

The blade itself was made from tungsten, which wasn't terribly magnetic, so she wouldn't have been able to move it around terribly easily. Handy if you wanted to pump a lot of fire Dust through it, though.

Pyrrha entered the room, shield up, gun ready, but found no opposition. Blake followed her in, and confirmed what Pyrrha suspected.

"He's gone." Blake announced to the rest of the group, waiting outside.

They lowered their weapons, but didn't put them away.

When Blake and Pyrrha exited the building, they saw that Ren had joined them.

"Well," Glynda said, "Now that the train is not going anywhere, we can see if Ruby and Yang have found and or captured—"

She was interrupted when a flash of yellow light and a wave of heat rolled over them, from the back of the train. The train cars blocked their view, but they recognized the yell that rang out through the cavern.

Blake leapt on top of a train car, getting a better view.

"Holy sh… you gotta see this."

They made their way around the front of the train engine, and watched in awe.

Ruby made her way over to them, and began rambling, "Hey, guys, I'm alright, but Cole's not dead! He managed to take control for a bit but—"

"Wait, calm down, _what happened?"_

"Cole is _alive!_ He managed to take back control for a bit!"

I===I

 _ **Music Begin: I Burn (Jeff Williams)**_

Coal roared, exiting the building at high speeds.

"Oh no you don't!" Yang yelled, delivering a devastating uppercut. Cole dodged to the side, and tried to swing at Yang. She blocked the blow on her own gauntlet, following up with a second fist, allowing Ember Celica to release another shot.

Coal was surprised at her strength. One connected blow, and almost all of his aura was gone. He would have to play evasively.

He leapt to the side, dodging a fist and tried to go for two short jabs, but they bounced off her aura without any problem. Ducking under a counterattack, Cole tried for a heavy blow that could tear steel. Despite making solid contact, Yang's aura stopped it dead.

Growling, Cole rained blown after blow on defending Yang, but she met each one with other her gauntlets or her unbreakable aura.

Cole realized the beowolf's mistake, even if _it_ didn't.

Blows that could dent steel would mean Yang could turn around and _shatter_ it.

Her next swing, a tight haymaker, was enough to blow out Coal's remaining aura.

If he took another hit like that, there wouldn't be any more. Ever.

Backpedaling quickly, Coal winced as a glancing blow dented his gauntlets, pinning them uncomfortably against his arms. The following shotgun blast further damaged them, and any pellets that missed the gauntlet peppered his fur, but not quite making it through.

Yang's semblance burned brighter, and the fire pouring off her burned Coal **[Pun not intended]** , singing his fur. The force pushing against his already-damaged gauntlets increased, and the bent metal bevan to push into his flesh uncomfortably.

Staying close wasn't a terribly good idea right now, but although there were tons of dropped White Fang weapons lying around, your standard assault rifle wasn't built for beowolf use. So, Coal settled for digging his claws into a roundish slab of stone, likely part of a building at one point, and hurling it like a giant frisbee towards Yang.

Putting one foot back, Yang cocked back a fist and threw a punch, shattering the stone with a single blow. Coal dodged the debris and found more, smaller stones to hurl.

Despite the faster, stronger, and smaller projectiles, Yang was able to meet or block each one on her fists or gauntlets with ease. When Coal ran out of nearby stones, Yang returned fire, sending red blasts from her gauntlets. They whistled through the air, detonating on impact. Cole's skin and fur were thick enough to take the shells, but aside from further burning his fur and scorching bone, they kept him off-balance. Yang used one such moment of disorientation to reload her gauntlets, before firing behind her rocketing forward towards the recovering beowolf.

Coal suddenly leapt up and smashed Yang on one side. The unbalance of forces sent Yang spinning out of control, and she hit the remains of Ruby's Paladin.

The metal shrieked as it skidded across concrete, moved by Yang's impact.

Yang pushed her way out of a sparking, Yang-shaped hole in the mech. Reaching over, she tore the arm off the Paladin's torso. It had been barely hanging on, due to Coal's earlier actions, and Yang's impact.

Yang glared at the beowolf, hefting the bulky limb.

" _What, did you think I was going to stand there and take it?"_

Yang hurled the mechanical arm forward, and it skidded across the ground. Cole was about to sidestep to allow it to pass, but then he noticed the two explosive shells about to hit the exposed, damaged cannon ammo drum.

Remembering what had happened earlier, when fighting Ruby, Coal was forced to jump forward, blocking the shells off his bone spikes. It hurt, but at least the dust rounds in the arm-cannon didn't blow.

Coal dashed away from the blast zone, leaving a second volley from Yang to pierce the chamber containing the dust.

The mech arm blew, but Coal was far enough that the blastwave didn't hurt.

Unfortunately for Coal, it was strong enough yo him forward. He saw Yang rushing towards him, and barely raised an arm to block the blow.

With the force behind that attack, Coal had a feeling if he'd caught that on the head, he would have been dead.

As it was, felt a burst of actual pain, and looked at his left arm, where he had caught the blow. The spines adorning his arm had actually been cracked. One was on the verge of breaking.

Coal knew it was time to retreat. This was a fight he couldn't win. He broke into an outright sprint, towards the exit RWBY and NPR had collapsed to let the Grimm in.

" _Hey!_ I'm not done with you yet!"

Shells whistled over Coal's head, exploding when they made contact with the ground. One blast was close enough, and made him stumble. A second blast made him ram headfirst into a wall.

Growling lowly, Cole bounded into the space between buildings, disappearing from view.

 _ **[Music End]**_

Yang knew—from experience—that she wouldn't be able to catch him, and began letting her semblance cool.

"That… was… _amazing_!" Nora cried out.

"Is Ruby ok?" Yang asked, ignoring the praise.

"I'm fine." Yang caught sight of Ruby, and instantly her semblance shut off completely as she bent down to check Ruby for any injuries.

" _Stap_ , I'm fine! Pyrrha transferred some Aura to me!"

Ruby wiggled out of Yang's grip, presenting the scratches from Coal… or lack thereof.

Yang sighed. "Ok… But that was close… _too_ close."

"Well, the train isn't going anywhere," Pyrrha said, "So we accomplished at least one of our goals."

"All that's left is to call the VPD to collect the dust," Ren added.

"But still…" Ruby said quietly.

She turned to look where Coal had run off to. "We'll save you, Cole," Ruby silently promised.

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] Bluetooth :D**

 **[**] The way I imagine Paladin piloting works, there's four different modes:**

 **Autopilot**

 **Simple (what they're using): Basic movements, such as walking, or moving the arm when operator is aiming, are handled automatically, operator just tells it where to go. (Essentially a FPS game)**

 **Medium (Roman vs RWBY): same as 2, but with more options (e.g. Kicking, jetting backward)**

 **Difficult: Halo's Spartans. Total operator control, computer handles only basic functions (e.g. Engaging pistons to make Paladin Jump, opening missile pods when told to, displaying info, etc.)**

 **[***] Magazines and clips are** _ **not**_ **the same thing, despite popular belief. Google it for more info.**

 **I===I**

 **Is it safe to come out of any bunker? Has Super Saiyan Yang saved me?**

 **If so, she's a true heroine indeed.**

 **Anyway, they almost recaptured Coal, who's proven to be quite tough (two Paladins! Almost all on his own!), and they stopped the Mountain Glenn train! And, just now as I write these words, I am considering having Blake give Adam the bird.**

…

 **Nah.**

 **Weeeeell… sure.**

 _ ***Adds it***_

 **It was originally a bullet, instead of the gesture, but it's the same effect, if funnier XD**

 **Moving on, Yang went Super Saiyan! Hooray!**

 **And now they know Cole isn't completely done for! Also the goodness!**

… **ye, not much really else to say here :P**

— **dragoncraftertex**


	10. Tukson, Touchy-Feely, Extra Team

**Hello peoples!**

 **You know, I didn't really intend, when I starts this fic, to have Mountain Glenn go as it did.**

 **I originally meant to have Coal leave his team in the middle of the night, on the day RWBY left of their field trip, and catch up to before/when RWBY entered the train cavern.**

 **I'd planned to calculate how far Mt. Glenn was by comparing someone's known height to the train, finding the train speed using that and how long it was traveling, yada yada yada…**

 **For that matter, Cole was never supposed to go Feral for too long.**

 **I liked that chap - better**

 _ **Reviews!**_

 **I===I**

 _ **nopeite nopeite nope:**_ **I like to know what people think of the chapter; reactions to whatever just happened. Of course, I always welcome constructive criticism. Anyone else reading this response, just saying "**** u" doesn't count… but I'm fine with it if I just did something evil XD**

 **You're safe Nopeite.**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **Regarding Glynda:**

…

 ***Facepalms* Dust damn it, I did not even** _ **think**_ **about that…**

 **As for Jaune… not** _ **completely**_ **, but it's still a big maybe, and if he does come, it'll be later. Much later.**

 _ **rocketmce:**_ **No, aside from complete loss of non-automatic motor functions to the physical body.**

 _ **nopeite nopeite nope:**_ … **again? Also, thanks for the info.**

 _ **Guest:**_ **As in, people will attack whoever's in love w/Cole, they'll go after Cole with a vengeance, or you'll be chasing me with a pitchfork?**

 _ **Mew Shadowfang:**_ **Fangirliness was turned to maximum even though I'm a guy! YAAAAN NNGGG!**

 _ **Dalan777:**_ **Oh… I thought I took care of that in foreverfall, but guess I forgot :P**

 **If Cole had killed the 'Grimm side,' then he would have… had trouble maintaining his physical form, let's say.**

 **Chapter Time!**

 **X=====Chapter 10: Tukson, Touchy-Feely, Extra Team=====X**

 _Ozpin's office._

"You're _absolutely_ sure?"

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed. "Cole managed to take control!"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "Then that confirms what we suspected, and hoped. Salem's grip isn't absolute… it is unfortunate he was subdued again, however."

"Well," Pyrrha said, "Perhaps, if Cole was at Mountain Glenn, he's not answering to Salem, at least not directly."

"Cinder, maybe?"

"Well, that means he's still in or near Vale somewhere," Yang said.

"And," Ozpin added, reaching into a drawer, "We never did have the opportunity to go over the data stolen from the bullhead."

He produced the data stick, as well as a scroll to plug it into.

The screen lit up, and revealed a bunch of technical data regarding systems status, flight conditions and… "Flight history!" Ruby pointed out the needed files.

While it didn't give street addresses, the landing and/or refueling locations of the bullhead were given by coordinates that, with a bit of cross-referencing with a map of Vale, would give away numerous White Fang bases. Unfortunately, it was late, and despite the students' drive, they were ready for a good night's sleep, and Ozpin told them as such.

"Glynda and I will work on deciphering the locations, you all go to bed. It's late, and you _do_ have classes tomorrow. We will have organized trusted strike teams—you included—of course in a few weeks. Until then, rest, and finish your exams."

I===I

With upcoming Finals, they had no more time to think about it. Their Monday was eaten up by Mountain Glenn, so they had no choice but to study extra hard for tomorrow's tests.

Pyrrha stared at her notes, absentmindedly tapping her fingers to an unheard song. She just couldn't focus on studying. Now that she really had _time_ to think about the future that had meant to be, she couldn't focus on something as… simple as her notes.

She glanced down towards where the arrow was supposed to hit, and remembered the death that was supposed to happen mere minutes before.

After a couple seconds, she sighed and closed her notebook.

She wouldn't be able to study right now, and decided to go outside for some cool, evening air.

The sun was setting, and but the glow of the lampposts dotted around campus would keep back the encroaching darkness.

Even so, the setting sun looked wonderful, throwing streaks of fire across the sky…

Fire…

And… she was back to thinking of Cinder.

Pyrrha sighed, hugging herself. Ozpin had extended the same offer to her that he had made before.

To enter the aura-transfer machine and attempt to infuse the Maiden's remaining powers into her.

Cole's notes hadn't been terribly helpful on the decision, as the process had been interrupted, so she didn't even know if it would _work_.

"You can't study either?"

Pyrrha turned to find Ruby, keeping her cloak close to assist her aura in its task of keeping out the cold.

"Yes… I'm just thinking."

Pyrrha moved to a nearby bench and invited Ruby to sit down.

The younger girl did so. "Thinking 'bout what?"

"Ozpin offered to use the machine; the one in the basement."

Ruby understood immediately.

"Oh… you had this same problem—er, will have this—are having this problem?" Ruby waved her arms around in confusion. "Ugh, time travel stuff is so confusing."

Pyrrha grinned slightly.

"I know what you're trying to say," she assured the younger girl.

Her smile faded. "So… do you believe in destiny?"

Ruby nodded. "I like your version of it."

They sat in silence as the Sun finally dipped below the horizon.

"What should I do?" Pyrrha asked. "I accepted last time, but that was a desperate situation, and if we… _kill_ …" ' _Such an ugly word.'_ "Cinder Fall… Amber may wake up, if the powers go back to her. But if we wait too long, Cinder may discover and kill Amber, and with the Maiden's full power… it would be nearly impossible to stop her, seeing as she knows _how_ to use the power, at least to an extent."

"I don't know what to do," Ruby replied with a shrug. "This isn't exactly something that's happened before."

Pyrrha stared off into the distance.

"But know that whatever you choose, team RWBY and the rest of your team will support your decision!"

"Thank you," Pyrrha said with a smile.

After a moment, she made a decision. "We wait."

Pyrrha noticed the distant look that adorned Ruby's face, and realized they hadn't even _mentioned_ what had bothered Ruby enough to get her to come out here.

"What's bothering _you?_ " Pyrrha asked the caped girl sitting next to her.

"Huh?" Ruby returned to the present. "It's… It's nothing, I'm fine."

"You listened to me, and heard out _my_ problem… let me hear yours."

Ruby stayed silent for a moment. "It's Cole… he's still out there, still… _feral_ … but worse than that is knowing that the _real_ Cole is trapped, and there's no easy solution to the problem…" Ruby slumped down slightly. "There might not _be_ a happy ending to this one."

Ruby hung her head, tears beginning to form.

"If I lose Cole… he's looked out for me for _six years_ , and now I know he planned ahead for the next one-and-a-half…"

She got off the bench and lay on the ground, staring up at the slowly-appearing stars.

Her mirth faded. "Yang's pretending to be all 'yeah let's do this' and 'we've got nothing to worry about' but…" Ruby shrugged, putting her hands behind her head. "She's just as worried as I am. He's looked out for her too, and she for him. Plus, this isn't exactly the type of problem that you can punch away."

Pyrrha didn't have any siblings, so she could only imagine how Ruby felt, after losing her brother, and in such a horrible way.

"We'll find a way," Pyrrha said, "We _will_ get Cole back, even if it means fighting Salem herself."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Pyrrha."

I===I

Cole, restrained by new bindings, glared at the beowolf in control. At the moment, it was pushing its head into Cinder's absentminded petting.

Cinder just _casually_ petting a creature of Grimm worked wonders for intimidation, and indeed, the White Fang soldiers present—moving around stolen Dust, or crates of weapons—gave her and her 'pet' a wide berth.

"Cinder!"

The beowolf (and by extension, Cole) snapped its head around to locate the source of the voice.

Emerald Sustrai entered through a doorway and quickly approached Cinder, hesitating when she got near the Grimm, which watched her with one careful, red eye.

Cole, inside the mental prison, growled lowly at the sight of Cinder's most loyal, and _easily_ most vital, follower.

"What is it," Cinder asked, not even sparing a glance.

"We were wondering," Emerald said hesitantly, "should we take care of that one deserter that Roman didn't? Mercury and I are getting kind of bored…"

Was it time for Tukson's execution already? He could only hope RWBY and NPR had already gotten him out.

Cinder thought about it, then sighed. "Very well… not _only_ if you make sure to not be seen."

Cole frowned. What happened to 'Don't get your hands dirty while in Vale'?

Then he realized: Roman's capture meant some responsibilities fell to other people. Apparently, that meant Cinder was willing to let Emerald take out a deserter.

Emerald exited the room, likely to go find Mercury.

Cinder returned to overseeing the White Fang's work, also continuing to pet the beowolf. Cole tugged at his restraints—in addition to the cage, there were now mental 'chains' that held him back—but they held strong. The clink of metal **[*]** drew the mental attention of Coal, but a quick once-over was all that he was afforded.

Cole slumped down, knowing there was nothing he could do… not now, at least.

As for Coal… he could sense the sorrow and fury that the trapped soul was emitting. That delicious sense of negativity, in addition to the ministrations to his head, was making for a great day.

I===I

Tukson looked up as service bell at his desk rang, signaling a new arrival.

Blake immediately noticed the burly man coming out from around a bookshelf, box of books in his arms.

"Ah, hello there," he said, "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun!"

"Are you Tukson?" Blake asked.

"Why, yes, yes I am. How may I help—"

"How soon are you planning to leave for Vacuo?"

"I'm sorry?"

Quickly checking to make sure the shop was empty Blake said, "The White Fang knows you plan to escape Vale, or they soon will. However soon you plan to leave, you need to get out _sooner."_

Tukson narrowed his eyes at the huntress-in-training. "And what makes you think I'm leaving? Or am involved with the White Fang?"

The door opened, and Blake turned to see who it was.

Two people walked in, a guy and a girl. One wearing green, the other grey. Or rather, Emerald and Mercury.

' _What… what are they doing here? They're not supposed to come for another few days!'_ Blake, despite her internal panic, managed to maintain a calm facade.

She remembered distinctly, having reviewed Cole's Notes, that Emerald and Mercury attacked Tukson _after_ ' _Dust till Dawn_ ' opened.

"How may I…" he hesitated, glancing towards Blake. "How may I help you?"

"Just browsing," Mercury said, riffling through books up front, but keeping a subtle eye on Blake.

"Actually," Emerald began, "I was wondering…"

Blake was internally panicking. Tukson likely didn't have any aura, so he wouldn't be much help in a hunter fight. At the same time, they might be willing to kill him with her here, if Emerald used an illusion to make her see nothing was wrong.

' _I need backup. Who's in Vale today, who's in Vale today…'_

Yang and Ruby! They came to get some dust, if she was lucky they may have even come to visit _Dust till Dawn!_

Blake opened her scroll, keeping an eye on Emerald and Mercury, though she wasn't sure how effective her vigilance was, given Emerald's semblance.

"You've reached the number of Yang Xiao Long, official badass…" Yang's voice came out of the speaker, but it just voicemail. "... so, just leave a message after the beep. Beep!" Then the scroll _actually_ beeped.

"You and Ruby. Come to Tukson's Book Trade. Now. Bring your weapons," Blake muttered, too low for Emerald or Mercury, distracted by Tukson, to hear.

Then, the world seemed suddenly quieter.

She realized that all the sound around her had suddenly become more… muted. ' _Is this what hearing sounds like to a human?'_

She drew Gambol Shroud and flicked it into its pistol mode, firing off two shots towards Emerald and Mercury's respective positions.

Mercury seemingly teleported from his place by the comic books to right behind Emerald, who now glared at Blake with a hint of surprise, her weapon drawn.

Tukson looked ready to attack, claws unsheathed, but he had yet to jump onto his countertop.

"Tukson! Get out _now!"_ Blake shouted, open firing towards the two assassins.

Ducking behind the store's counter, he made his way into the back rooms as Emerald's bullets peppered the wood behind him.

Emerald jumped back from Blake's slash, almost knocking into a bookshelf. Mercury attacked, bringing up a foot to kick Blake in the face.

The clone's head blasted into black particles, and the rest of the body quickly followed.

Blake slashed repeatedly at Mercury, who blocked or dodged her swings. Emerald attacked from the side, and a shadow-clone was suddenly riddled with bullet holes.

Her eyes on her opponents, Blake payed careful attention to the sounds around her. When the ambient noise around her quieted again, and her opponents began advancing straight towards her, Blake fired a couple rounds to either side of them. Chances were, they were actually trying to flank her.

The illusion wavered, likely due to Emerald's surprise, but held steady.

However, Emerald and Mercury were suddenly nowhere to be seen.

After waiting a second, Blake swung her blade in a circle around herself, hoping to get lucky. Indeed, Gambol caught on something she couldn't see. Her success was rewarded with a blow from behind.

Blake was shoved into a bookshelf, which collapsed to the ground.

Her hearing returned to normal, and she turned to find Emerald and Mercury standing over her, weapons ready.

"Hey!" A red blast flew between Emerald and Mercury, smashing into the bookshelf. In addition to obliterating several books, it was sufficient a distraction to keep Emerald and Mercury away from Blake. Taking advantage of the opening, Blake got up and moved next to Yang. Yet, despite the situation, Blake couldn't help but wince as she saw several likely amazing novels burning by the heat of Yang's blast.

But for whatever reason, Ruby was not here. "Ruby's getting Tukson out. Her weapon isn't the best indoors like this," Yang told her, as if reading her mind.

Blake nodded in understanding. A giant sniper-scythe would just get caught up in everything in a small space, and likely knock down several walls.

Yang and Blake moved together as Emerald and Mercury got up from their cover behind a ruined bookshelf.

"Pinch me if I'm dreaming?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded. "I can tell when _I_ am."

They charged.

I===I

' _****, ****, ****!'_ Tukson slammed the door shut behind him, and a few bullets punched through the wood. He could still hear the sounds of battle behind him.

He grabbed a suitcase—not entirely packed, but enough to get by for a while—and snagged his ticket, before taking the back exit.

He had no idea _how_ the Fang had found out, or who that girl who had come to get him out had been, but, as much as it pained him to leave her alone, he didn't even have his aura unlocked. He wasn't a fighter.

When he opened the back exit, he was greeted with a little girl holding a sniper ready, but aimed at the ground.

"Tukson?" She asked.

"Yes." Tukson cursed at his automatic response.

The girl nodded and expanded the sniper into a scythe. "I'm here to get you out. Which port you leaving from?"

"Uh, Monty Inter-Kingdom."

She nodded. "Let's go."

I===I

Ruby held Crescent Rose in its sniper form, prepared to defend her charge. While Tukson hailed a taxi, Ruby scanned the crowd. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A glint of sunlight, reflecting off something. A quick glance through her scope revealed what it was.

Ruby expanded her scythe and thrust the blade in front of Tukson. He winced at the well-known ping of a bullet on metal. Ruby stood in front of Tukson, blocking bullets.

"Into the alley!"

Tukson grabbed his suitcase and obeyed the order.

Ruby followed, twirling her scythe. To block the sniper.

But she was confused. According to Cole, this was supposed to be an unsanctioned attack. She was just a precaution in case Mercury or Emerald escaped the battle.

Poking her head out, she ignored the bullet that hit her aura the favor of countersniping the White Fang soldier.

His scope shattered from the bullet, and he dropped the rifle in surprise. Unfortunately for him, it fell off the roof, clattering to the ground amongst the pedestrians, already panicked by the crack of a sniper round and the whizzing of Ruby's scythe.

Ruby turned her attention back to Tukson. "We walk then."

I===I

Emerald cursed internally, blocking a horizontal slash, before peppering another shadow clone.

She didn't know _how_ , but this girl in black was able to tell whenever Emerald tried to use her semblance on her.

Mercury was busy trying to deal with the blonde, and considering Bow's tenacity, Emerald wouldn't be able to use her semblance on _both_ of her opponents.

Plus, the unstable footing caused by toppled bookshelves was _not_ doing Mercury any favors.

This was a fight they couldn't win, not here.

Still, it was a good thing they snagged a White Fang sniper to deal with Tukson, if he somehow managed to escape.

"Mercury, we need to go— _now!"_

Delivering one more kick, Mercury knocked Yang backwards. He bolted to the front door, and burst out. Emerald gave Blake another illusion, and ran for the door.

Dodging a fist from Yang, Emerald burst out the door and took a sharp left.

Mercury had darkened the windows earlier, so Blake and Yang couldn't see where they were when Emerald exited the building.

The huntresses-in-training rushed out the door, looking around wildly for the two perpetrators.

But they were gone.

I===I

The gangway pulled up, and Ruby waved to the faunus in the airship.

He gave her a thankful nod, and turned to find a seat.

They had made it to the skyport without any more incidents. It seemed the White Fang sniper had been the only backup.

Ruby's scroll began to vibrate as the airship pulled away. She fished it out of her pocket and answered the call from Yang.

" _They escaped. How's Tukson?"_ Yang asked.

"He's on the airship, safely headed for Vacuo," Ruby replied, making her way to the Beacon Bullheads.

"I'll meet you guys back at the dining hall."

I===I

"You were _what?"_ Cinder glared at Emerald, who was fearfully bowing her head in shame. Mercury gulped, keeping an eye on the growling beowolf that slowly stalked around him.

"We were defeated," Emerald almost whispered.

Cinder formed a fireball and hurled it at the wall.

The napalm splashed against the wall, heating the metal until it glowed dangerously.

"You mean to tell me that _one_ faunus, without _any_ combat training, managed to defeat _both_ of you?!"

"Actually," Emerald said, "Beacon students. One of them could tell when I used my semblance on her."

Cinder didn't doubt the power and accuracy of Emerald's illusions.

A student that could see through one—or at least tell when she was under influence—would pose a serious threat to Cinder's plans.

"Show me them."

Emerald inserted the images of the two girls in Cinder's mind, letting them show up as illusions that Cinder could inspect and memorize.

Cinder stalked around seemingly empty air, but was actually where the illusionary copies stood.

After about half a minute, Cinder nodded and Emerald released her hold.

"Unfortunately," Cinder said, calmly but with a hint of edge in her voice, "Your _screw-up_ is going to only make things more difficult for us. Go buy some makeup."

Cinder exited the room, Coal following close behind her.

I===I

Ozpin turned as the elevator to his office dinged open.

Qrow stumbled out, raising his flask in greeting.

"Wassup Ozzy?"

"Hello, Qrow."

"So whatcha want me back for? Kinda busy finding the Queen's little pawns."

"I'm afraid two matters of great import have arisen, although they involve her."

Qrow leaned against a column, crossing his arms. "So what's the situation?"

"To begin, a couple teams—led by your nieces—managed to capture Torchwick and gather the locations of several White Fang strongholds."

"Really? Well, kudos to them."

"But it came at a cost."

Qrow lowered his flask, his expression suddenly dead-serious.

"What happened."

"From what Ruby and Cole's teams told me, Roman's right-hand retaliated. Cole'a aura was broken."

Qrow, and Taiyang, had been informed about the possible consequence of Cole's aura breaking.

Without a word, Qrow drew his sword and threw it at the column opposite him. The weapon embedded itself into the stone.

Ozpin watched the silent display of anger. "All is not lost. In a recent encounter, Cole managed to regain control, albeit temporarily."

"Heh. He's a strong kid, I'll give him that," Qrow grunted. "So, I assume we're going to raid the White Fang bases and try to find Cole?"

"Yes. You will be leading team RWBY. A few other trusted huntsmen will be leading other chosen teams. Once you have located and captured or driven away Cole…" Ozpin glared with distaste at the Atlas battleships flying in. "...Atlas can perform cleanup."

Qrow grunted, yanking his sword out of the pillar.

"Sounds like fun. When do we start?"

I===I

"…and so then I'm like, 'You have five seconds to drop the cookie and start running.'"

NPR and RWBY, sitting in the dining hall, laughed at the story of Cole's failed attempt to sneak some of the cookies of legend from Ruby.

"So at this point," Yang continued for Ruby, "I'm standing outside, and then suddenly, Cole just straight-up _leaps_ through the wall. Of course, he uses his semblance. So I ask him what's going on. His response: 'I have unleashed a demon. Run.'"

Even the normally-stoic Ren was chuckling.

"And so then, the wall behind him just _explodes_. Splinters flying everywhere. Cole just runs off at a full sprint, a twirling scythe of death on his heels."

Nora fell backwards off her chair in her mirth.

Then she noticed someone. "Oh hi there, new person!"

Ruby and Yang, who had been sitting next to Nora, turned to find their uncle leaning against the wall, grinning at the memory of the incident.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby leapt out of her seat, wrapping herself around her uncle. "You're here!"

"Hey, kiddo," Qrow responded, ruffling Ruby's hair.

"Whatcha doing here at Beacon?" Yang asked.

"Remember those base locations you stole off of Roman's bullhead? Ozzy's gathered a fewof trusted hunters to hall you guys in taking out the hideouts. Apparently there's a couple more teams joining too."

"Oh. Cool. You're in charge of us then?"

"Yep. I'm going with you kiddies, Tai—gets here tomorrow, by the way—is taking NPR."

"Which other teams will be joining us?" Blake asked.

"Eh, CVFY, if they wanna help out **[**]**. So, whaddya say, kid?" Qrow asked, looking pointedly past the teams directly in front of him.

The two teams turned to find Velvet, sitting on the table across from them, halted mid-chew, staring at them guilty.

Yang whistled. "Wow, Velvet, I never took you as an eavesdropper."

Velvet's face reddened with embarrassment. "I'm sorry!... You mentioned Cole, and I'd been wondering where he's been. Most people won't say it out loud, but…" Velvet got up and moved to their table, bringing her tray with her. "Honestly? They're relieved the Grimm is gone."

Qrow grunted. "Sounds 'bout right. You can't really expect people to love someone who looks like the very enemy of all of humanity… and the Faunus. **[***]** Lucky the kid's naturally an introvert."

"So, Velvet," Blake said, "Do you think your team will be willing to help?"

Velvet nodded. "I'll have to run it by Coco, but we probably will."

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] Cole's mind interprets the mental prison as such. Just a visualization(/audioazation?) to make sense of things.**

 **[**] Why do I make it harder on myself by involving more characters…**

 **[***] Humanity and Faunus-ity?**

 **I===I**

 **Here ya go, another chapter!**

 **Remember the data that CNPR and RWBY stole from Roman's bullhead at the docks? Here it is! Qrow inbound!**

 **Also, how did I do with the Pyrrha/Ruby (Not doing Cereal & Milk pairing! They just seemed the ones who'd be the most troubled.) 'touchy-feely' scene?**

 **Ye.**

 **100% Honesty tho: I'm flying blind. Mostly.**

 **I have a few (Read: one major, one minor {so far}) 'Fixed Points' that are guaranteed to happen, and I will work the story to reach them somehow.**

 **For example, one 'fixed point' is when Cole will '** _ **[redacted]'**_ **to** _ **[redacted]**_ **, which will make him go** _**[redacted]**_ **the** _ **[redacted]**_ **against** _**[redacted]**_ **and** _ **[redacted]**_ **an** _ **[redacted]**_ **which will** _ **[redacted]**_ **the** _ **[redacted]**_ **to** _ **[redacted]**_ **for him.**

 **Oh, spoilers.**

 **Other than that, I'm making it up as I go.**

 **Welp, here's a little extra bit I** _ **really**_ **wanted to put in.**

 **I===I===I**

 _Extra (non-canon): You_ Suck _at Hiding Evil Plans!_

"Thanks," Cinder said. "Maybe we'll see each other around."

"Yeah… maybe…" Ruby watched as Cinder and her lackeys continued down the hall. "Oh, and by the way, that Grimm dragon you've got hidden away in the mountain isn't exactly a secret. People are taking bets on how much Dust it'll need to die! You _suck_ at hiding evil plans!"

"Grimm dragon… what, you think I have a creature of _Grimm_ as a pet? That's ridiculous," Cinder called back over her shoulder. Secretly, her face was morphing into a horrified expression.

"Sure, and you didn't try to steal the Fall maiden's powers either."

Cinder spun around, fireballs in each hand, but Ruby had already zipped off, leaving a few rose petals in her wake.

Cinder extinguished the flames as she and her team stared in horror at the now-empty hallway. "How…"

Cinder had planned too long, and _far_ too carefully for something like this to just… _happen_.

A shame it wasn't canon.


	11. Take the Fight to the Enemy

**Welp… I'm kinda mad as I write this, 1) because something Rooster Teeth did in Chibi (i'll explain later) 2) I was late in uploading :P sorry**

 **REVIEWS!**

 _ **Nopeite nopite nope:**_ **Yay, no nukes! :D Cinder petting Cole… idk what gave me that Idea :P**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ ***Reads review* *rereads review* *rereads again* … You never fail to amuse, DaToskin. Also, the sniper was actually Emerald's Idea… a backup plan in case he tried to run instead of fight.**

 **Also, he has seen V4. And… what's with the whole 'ship' metaphor?**

 _ **Mew Shadowfang**_ **: Thanks for the correction. And yeah, Cole proooobably couldn't have seen Salem's interference, and there was definitely some behind-the-scenes stuff going on, which is why something that happens this chap happens. Hass to do with Cinder Mall—er, Cinder Fall (#RWBYChibiFTW)**

 _ **Bomberguy789:**_ **The Dragon… I just chalked it up to Salem magic.**

 **STORY TIME!**

 **XI=====Chapter 11: Take the Fight to the Enemy=====XI**

"The mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple." Ozpin pulled up a map with three marked buildings. "Of the many sites visited by the White Fang's bullhead, these were the most frequented, leading us to the conclusion that one is likely their headquarters and/or central stolen-goods warehouse, at least in this area."

Glynda took over. "CFVY, you are aware that Cole Xiao Long has been missing, correct?"

The teens nodded. The members of RWBY and NPR, behind CFVY, glanced at each other, unsure how much Glynda was going to reveal.

"There are… a couple things you do not know. The first thing is that Cole… was attacked by an associate of the White Fang. His aura was broken."

"This in of itself would not be so terrible, except… all his life, he has been holding back a 'Grimm side,' and, under attack and with his aura broken, the animalistic Grimm side gained control. As well as access to his aura and semblance."

CFVY grimaced. This wasn't gonna be easy. They's each tried their hand at defeating the local beowolf; only Fox had won, though they had each gotten close.

But if _feral_ Cole had no qualms about killing them…

"Your secondary mission is capture him, if possible. Do be advised, he has managed to take back control, temporarily, when Ruby was in danger. So we know that the Cole we knew is still alive."

They nodded, absorbing the new information.

Now addressing all the teams, Ozpin said, "You will each be assigned to a huntsman to assist and protect you. CFVY, you will be assigned to Glynda. CNPR, you will be assigned to Qrow Branwen."

"Sup." Qrow leaned against a pillar behind them, and raised his ever-present flask to them.

"And team RWBY, you'll be assigned to—"

"Hi, kids!"

Yang and Ruby spun to find their dad walking out of the elevator doors. "Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, dad!" Yang called. "How'd you get here?"

"How do you think? On my own two legs!" Everyone whose name did not include 'yang' tensed up.

Qrow grunted. "And _why_ are you late?"

"Well, not all of us can travel _as the Qrow_ _flies_!"

Everyone but Yang groaned at the pun.

"Aw, come on, I was on a roll!" Taiyang said with mock hurt.

"It probably would've been _butter_ if you hadn't started!" Yang replied.

Blake nodded sagely. "Amen to tha—" she paused. "Waaaait a moment…"

Tai ignored her. "Wow, was that joke made of paper?"

Both he and Yang continued, "Cause it was—"

" _Nope!"_ Nora shouted, jumping between the two jokesters, arms outstretched. "No bad puns _ever_ happened."

"But—"

" _EEEEEVERRRRRR_ " **[*]**

I===I

The bullheads split off from each other as they approached Vale, each turning to approach their respective targets.

Ruby stared at the buildings passing underneath them—far enough for the bullheads to go mostly unnoticed—and mentally reviewed their plan.

 _Their bullheads would fly to their respective hideouts under the cover of night. The VPD was ready to move in on the smaller installations whose locations were known._

 _Then, once radio confirmation was received that all the aircraft were in position…_

Chambering a round, Ruby leapt out of the bullhead, squinting slightly as wind rushed past her face. Her teammates followed her.

 _They would jump._

Nora smiled giddily as she fell backwards off the loading ramp of the bullhead, hammer held tightly.

 _All at once._

As Ruby fell, she peered through her sniper scope, and, despite the rushing wind and falling altitude, located the White Fang soldiers stationed on the roof. They would be invisible from the ground, of course. But there was nothing hiding them from attackers from the sky.

Ruby fired rounds from her rifle at the group below, simultaneously slowing her own descent. The others used their own methods of landing,

 _Once subduing_ — _or at least driving back_ — _the Fang, the VPD will be given the all-clear to secure the building._

Nora lamented over the broken Paladin she had been riding around on, causing destruction as she went. Ren and Pyrrha observed the damage done by the rampage. Metal crates were dented or gashed open, knocked aside by the semi-insane Nora and the blinded Paladin she rode like she had the ursa. Grenades to the backside really _were_ great incentives to get moving.

Qrow, having watched the display of power and insanity, was left to mop up only a few snipers in the rafters, then contact the Police waiting a safe distance away. Having done that, he dropped to the ground next to the exited pink hammer-wielder.

"Do you _always_ pick the biggest, most destructive thing around you to use?"

"Yep!"

In another warehouse, Coco bashed open a door with the front of her minigun and kept her finger ready on the trigger. Moonlight streaming in from a high window revealed naught but an empty room. Shrugging slightly, she turned around, collapsing her minigun.

Dropping from the ceiling silently, despite the bone and metal that adorned him, Coal snuck up behind the huntress-in-training, who was talking into her earpiece.

 _That is, assuming Cole isn't found._

"... looks like he's not here either. I'll—huh?"

Coco heard something behind her, and swung her suitcase, smashing aside the lunging beowolf's armored front legs. This ruined Coal's lunge, and his bulk smashed into Coco. She stumbled back slightly, but recovered and swung her weapon again. The minigun was good in the small hallway, but only if her target was not at close range.

So imagine her surprise when Coal backed up. She blinked owlishly before taking advantage of the situation, unleashing her heavy weapon.

At first, Cole was confused at the beowolf's lack of tactical thinking by backing up. As Coco's weapon began spitting bullets, Coal suddenly became incorporeal and fell through the floor.

The Coal landed on a crate, out of sight of the main holding room. As soon as the minigun fell silent, the beowolf leapt up at the ceiling, becoming once again intangible. That's when Cole realized its plan.

Seeing her opponent sink into the floor, she stopped shooting, releasing the trigger to reach for her earpiece. "Cole is here, I repeat—"

 _Once found, the other two groups would make their way to Cole's location._

Coco was forced to stop as a growl sounded behind her. She quickly swung her minigun around to aim at the beowolf, but the barrel caught on some rebar or a girder. Whatever it was, it stopped her swinging motion long enough for Cole to get into slashing distance. He attacked, but the strike was caught on Fox's gauntlets.

Coco's teammate stood in front of her—having leapt over her head—with wrist-blades extended, holding back the beowolf's impressive strength. Coco yanked her weapon out of the wall (smashing the concrete behind her) and collapsed the minigun into its more manageable form. Fox twisted to the side, ending his power struggle against Coal and allowing the metal handbag to swing past him and up into Coal's jaw.

The strike did no more than stagger the grimm, however, as Cole's aura dispersed the blow. Coal growled and danced backwards to avoid another strike from Fox. "C'mon, mutt," Coco taunted.

Coal lunged toward the pair of them, forcing Fox to block. He prepared to move to the side in the hope of the same trick working again.

Coal had other ideas. Freeing one paw, he grabbed one of Fox's wrist blades and heaved, pulling the fighter off balance. Coal slashed him into the floor, raising a paw to strike down. Coco kicked at Cole, forcing him to back up. Suddenly, he raised his head, ears alert. After a second, Coal dashed through the wall.

I===I

Cinder scowled, watching from behind the police barrier (at a fair distance) as the police raided their warehouse. It was pure chance that she, Emerald, and Mercury had not been in their base when the police found their hideout. Emerald held up Cinder's dress, now bagged, now that Cinder wore her newly-bought disguise. "So… what do I do with this?"

Cinder stared at their base, considering their next action.

A bullhead roared by overhead, slowing to a hover over their base.

The unloading ramp opened, revealing a group of huntresses (and a hunter) ready to jump.

Mercury's eyes widened.

"****!" He cursed, grabbing Emerald and Cinder and dragging them into a nearby alleyway.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Emerald scowled, tearing her arm away from Mercury's grip.

"The two trainees. From Tukson's. They're there," Mercury replied.

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "You're SURE you weren't followed," She hissed to Emerald.

"Yeah," Emerald replied defensively. "We checked."

Cinder glared a few more seconds, then made a decision. "We go to one of our other bases."

Grabbing a black whistle from a pocket, she blew on it a couple times. Not that anyone with human hearing could… well… hear.

I===I

Blake winced as she heard a shrill whistle pierce the air. Her teammates, talking with Velvet and Yatsuhashi were unaffected, though she saw Velvet's ears twitch in annoyance at something.

A dog whistle, then.

It repeated again, and Blake turned to find the perpetrator.

Nothing but a few buildings and a small crowd opposite the police barrier.

Blake mentally congratulated the cops on actually managing to put up the blockade rather quickly this time. Her time in the White Fang had made her really question the VPD. Showing off to a Beacon-sanctioned team seemed to spur them into action, though. Then the screaming started.

Snapping out of her thinking, she saw the beowolf leaping out of the second floor wall, before landing easily outside the warehouse.

"It's Cole!" She alerted the others. Taiyang was the second one to the roof's edge, only beaten by Ruby.

Then Blake realized the coincidental timing between the whistle and the beowolf.

Whoever blew that whistle was likely in command of the Coal. And, since it was doubtful that Salem would be here—or _use_ a dog whistle—that left one major suspect. ' _Cinder.'_

 _._

Taiyang grimaced, taking note of the beowolf's aggressive stance, which was different from Cole's normal battle-ready stance. The cops—who had drawn their guns—open fired, the crack of gunfire sending the crowd into a hasty retreat. "Team RWBY, with me," Taiyang ordered, leaping off the roof.

Ruby hit the ground and sped in front of Coal, cutting him off. The police held their fire when Ruby ran in front of them, though they kept their guns leveled. Coal paused when Ruby appeared, scythe held at the ready, but bunched up his legs and leapt.

"How about _no."_

Someone grabbed Coal's rear leg mid-air, and he found himself flying into the wall off the White Fang warehouse.

I===I

Cinder watched Taiyang grab Cole as the beowolf attacked Ruby. This was going to be difficult to get out of. She cursed, quietly enough that Emerald and Mercury wouldn't hear. "We're going to have to leave without the wolf." She told them.

Emerald looked up and saw Qrow jumping down at them. "Look out!" She shoved Cinder to the side and took the brunt of the attack. Mercury instantly attacked, but without bullets, as that would attract unwanted attention. Qrow easily blocked the kicks off his sword, before swinging it around with a smirk.

In the enclosed space of the alleyway, Cinder's bow would be nearly useless, and her dust explosives and fire magic would be as deadly to friend as foe. Qrow swung his blade, and Cinder parried with her short swords. Emerald fired at Qrow from behind, but he simply twirled his sword behind his back without more than a glance, before using the gained momentum to strike a heavy blow against Cinder, she held off the attack, knees buckling slightly, before creating obsidian shards mid-air; she leapt backwards before letting them fly.

Qrow raised his sword and braced, blocking the glass **[**]** bullets but blocking his view simultaneously.

When he looked again, the three of them were gone. He growled in annoyance. " _Up here!"_ Someone whisper-shouted.

Qrow instantly pointed his gun to the source of the voice. He lowered his weapon when realizing it was Blake, on the rooftop. Qrow wall-jumped up to join her. "They went this way," Blake whispered to him.

She began moving across the roofs, but Qrow grabbed her arm. "Cole?" He asked.

Blake admired that he was still worried about his (adopted) niece, even with the roof of all their (immediate) problems getting away. But the root of their (immediate) problems _was_ getting away. "Between two huntsmen and almost three teams, I don't think we need to worry about that," Blake responded, tugging the huntsman onwards.

Qrow relented, releasing her arm and allowing her to lead.

I===I

Coal slammed into another crate, which promptly exploded behind him, thanks to a grenade. Recovering quickly he dodged a spear and blocked a bullet before getting socked by Taiyang. It was only luck (on his part) that the virtual river of small caliber bullets didn't hit him. Coal was good, but this many people against just him… it was a slaughter.

He hadn't landed a single hit (except accidentally tripping Ruby), and were he given the opportunity to check his aura, he'd find himself in the low red. He turned incorporeal and tried to run through a wall to escape, but a glyph appeared under his feet and he found his feet unable to move long before he even got _close_ to the wall.

Upon sparring with Weiss, they had discovered some glyph magic still worked even when he was intangible.

Turning solid, he glared over his shoulder and snarled at the approaching people. Velvet approached with a pair of (slightly modified) semblance-blocking handcuffs, used by the police for rogue huntsmen or powered criminals. The others circled around, making sure if he broke free he'd have nowhere to run. Velvet cautiously came closer, cuffs open. Coal quit struggling against the glyph, instead settling for glaring at his trappers.

As Coal turned to look at someone else, Velvet rushed forward and snapped one cuff closed. But that's when things went south. Despite his legs being paralyzed, Coal swung around and grabbed Velvet by the ears with his jaws. Yanking her off-balance, he released the appendages and clamped down on her throat, squeezing hard.

.

The shouts of terror broke Weiss's concentration, and she looked up in time to see Velvet's Aura shatter as Coal turned to face them. But instead of a spray of blood, Coal merely held her. Ren dashed forward, but Coal tightened his grip, this time drawing pinpricks of blood.

Ren stopped. Coal's threat was clear.

Velvet moved her arm slowly, going for her weapon, but Coal cut the strap with one claw and knocked it away with his paw.

I===I

Cole watched on in shocked silence, unable to do anything. He could see the horror written on everyone's faces… and _feel_ the terror. One of the few things that remained with him in his captivity was his ability to sense negative emotions, and the Grimm was _basking_ in the ocean pouring from the terrified and worried humans around it. Cole pulled at his restraints in desperation, trying to break free to save Velvet. But a combination of aura exhaustion and strengthened mental barriers erected by Salem proved too much. He could do naught but watch.

I===I

Coal slowly walked backwards, dragging Velvet with him. Pyrrha and Fox—who had been directly behind Coal—moved out of the way, weapons still held ready. Coal growled (as best he could with someone in his jaws) when the group made to follow him. They wisely stopped.

Yang was furious, eyes crimson and fire rolling off her in waves, but she didn't make any movement toward Coal.

Ruby looked distraught; the same look when she had seen Penny die.

Taiyang looked worried but determined. "C'mon Cole, you can fight this…" he muttered softly.

The only response he got was a glare full of contempt and hatred.

Glynda looked positively furious at the thought that the beowolf would _dare_ hurt one of her students.

Team CFVY was downright _murderous_. Previous anti-bully assistance forgotten, Coco hefted her minigun, a prominent scowl apparent on her face.

Cole had a feeling she wouldn't forget this, even if he managed to regain control.

Coal continued backing up, Velvet lying still in his jaws, aside from fearful twitching of the ears.

The beowolf bumped into wall. In one smooth movement, he turned incorporeal and dashed backwards.

The instant Velvet was in the clear, the group surged forward with a roar, the wall Coal retreated through disintegrating underneath a salvo of minigun bullets and more than one semblance.

But as the first person went through the opening, they found naught but an empty room.

I===I

Blake leapt over the gap between two roofs, Qrow following closely behind.

Qrow silently admitted that Cinder was good at evading detection. She wove her way through the late-night crowd, going fast enough to make good time but not so quickly as to stand out, and taking well-traveled, noisy and bright streets to draw attention away from herself. If Blake hadn't seen where they were headed when they escaped Qrow… the hunter was not so stubborn as to admit he would've lost them. At least, admit it to himself. Even so, it didn't take too long for them to realize where they were going.

A shame their secondary base had already been raided by the police.

As soon as they discovered that fact, they turned into an alleyway and disappeared through a door. Blake and Qrow dropped down silently.

Qrow motioned to Blake to move next to the door. He took his sword off his back and flipped the blade back, exposing the shotgun barrels more prominently.

He kicked open the door and held his shotgun in front of him, quickly scanning the room. Suddenly, a high-pitched whistling sound started up, and the floor began to suddenly glow.

"Ah, f—"

He leapt backwards, grabbing Blake and throwing her to the floor as the eye-shaped spell exploded, raining debris and fire everywhere.

They managed to escape the worst of it, fortunately, although the ringing in their ears—Blake moreso, even with her bow's muffling—was not a good thing.

Qrow knew Cinder had escaped for now. They needed to go back to the group. Besides, Blake was unconscious. A heavy piece of debris had hit her head in the seconds after the explosion.

.…

How unlucky.

I===I

Cinder was honestly beginning to question the security of her plan. Her primary and secondary bases were compromised, perhaps even their aircraft hangar. Worse, the same person who interrupted the power transfer from the Fall maiden was now in Vale. Cinder didn't know how close the huntsman was to Ozpin, but she had a feeling that he would be more inclined to listen to the accusations of a huntsman rather than just a couple students.

This would pose a problem. She needed someone else on the playing field then. Neo would have to do a lot of the dirty work, but with proper precautions, Mercury and Emerald could possibly go in. Not her. She was too recognizable to the huntsman, but her two lackeys might be able to blend in. The beowolf wouldn't do, for obvious reasons. Now, that left one open spot on their false team…

I===I

Taiyang pulled Yang and Ruby to the side as the hunters and huntresses recovered from what had just happened.

Ruby was still in a state of shock over what almost happened, and Yang hadn't completely cooled down, figuratively _and_ literally.

"Look… I know this is… kind of hard to come to terms with…"

That's putting it mildly," Yang grumbled.

"But… Tai sighed. "Look… we figured something like this would happen, but we _will_ get him back. We will do everything we can. And we _can_ do something, right? He did take control to a bit."

Ruby glanced over to Velvet, who was sitting against the wall drinking a bottle of water, Coco kneeling beside her.

"He almost _killed_ Velvet…"

"But he didn't. Most grimm would never leave someone alive if they had the choice."

"Well, he didn't have—" Yang stopped when Taiyang glared at her and pointed to Ruby.

The message was clear. ' _Don't make her feel worse.'_

Yang sighed. "Yeah… we'll get him back.

 **I===I===I**

 **[*]RWBY Chibi Yay :D**

 **[**] Surprisingly enough, Obsidian is actually technically glass.**

 **I===I**

… **. Holy ****. Are you serious. I PREDICTED THE DOG WHISTLE THING. RWBY Chibi, you had the same idea. But because I was late in uploading I can't prove I thought of it first ;-;**

 **Y… Y couldn't I finish on time ;-;**

— **dragoncraftertex**


	12. Discussion Topic—Beowolf and Bang

**.…Hello there…**

 **Pls don't kill me.**

 **Yes this was late.**

 **Yes, I'm sorry.**

 **Yes, I have an excuse.**

 **Sorry :P**

 _ **Reviews!**_

 _ **mister nope:**_ **Sure. That name then. Also,** _ **where**_ **are you** _ **getting**_ **all these weapons? Plasma railguns? Wat next…**

 _ **Mew Shadowfang:**_ **Hmm… that** _ **is**_ **a good question. I assume Ruby didn't use it cause one: "Not cool." Two, most of the time they weren't** _ **expecting**_ **the White Fang (canonically). Also, yeah, a shame Qrow's semblance is passive… if he could direct it, that would be so much less painful.**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ … **This… this is golden. I'm not sure how you thought up this review style, but yes it's amazing and I love it XD**

 _ **Shadow20:**_ **Thanks for the suggestion, but I already know what I'm doing for that bit.**

 _ **Bomberguy789**_ **: Yeah, I see what you mean. I think Cinder would be powerful enough to create just one explosion thingy on her own. She** _ **does**_ **have partial Maiden powers, and the fact that it was indoors in a relatively enclosed space amplifies its explosive effect.**

 _ **Raze Olympus:***_ **Happiness***

 _ **elfqueen13:**_ ***Insert Darth Vader "No"***

 _ **Guest:**_ **Curiouser and Curiouser…**

 **XII=====Chapter 12: Discussion Topic** **—** **The Beowolf and the Bang** **=====XII**

"I am going to _kill_ that beowolf," Coco seethed quietly, gripping her handbag handle tightly

Velvet—the only one to have heard Coco's mumbling, thanks to her faunus hearing—instantly jumped to Cole's defense. "W-wait, it wasn't his fault!"

Coco remembered that Velvet had faunus hearing. "He nearly killed you! And he seemed pretty fine about it too."

"Remember what Ozpin said? He's not himself. Just calm down; deep breaths," Velvet urged.

Coco grit her teeth but did as asked. A few minutes later, she spoke up. "You're right… I was angry… but he's still not getting away scot-free," Coco said, raising her weapon. "When he's back on our side, if not sooner, I'm gonna hit him where the sun don't shine," She growled.

Fox spoke up. "Do Grimm even have… those?"

"Is that something that we _really_ want to know the answer to?"

Coco considered it for a moment."…We could always ask—"

" _N-NO!"_ Velvet interrupted, cheeks reddening.

"…I was gonna say Professor Port."

"St-Still no."

I===I

"How the _hell_ did they find us, Fall?" Adam growled, hand on the hilt of his weapon.

Any White Fang that had escaped the raid, or had been lucky enough to be in an undiscovered base, had eventually made their way to a fourth main warehouse. It was the last one standing, aside from several smaller installations dotted around the city.

"I don't know," Cinder replied, frustrated. Three of their four central storage warehouses had been found and raided, instead of just the one Cinder and company occupied.

They still had this final warehouse, but it was the smallest one, only containing a few bullheads, but not _nearly_ enough to bring a damaging amount of Grimm and/or troops into the city and Vytal Festival Tournament arena.

"We followed your orders to the _letter,_ and all we have to show for it are captured members and most of our resources _lost!"_ Adam accused loudly.

"I certainly didn't _lead_ them to your bases, if that's what you're assuming," Cinder replied coolly, "But perhaps some of your _troops_ weren't so careful as you think."

"My soldiers are—"

"Enough!" Cinder commanded, one eye beginning to glow slightly. Though he didn't like it, Adam recognized the threat and fell silent.

"We merely to adjust to the new situation, but we can't do that if we're going at each other's throats," Cinder said slowly. "Now here's what we're going to do…"

I===I

 _A couple weeks later_

"Prepare to defend yourself!"

Yang produced a card from her hand, and slammed it on the table.

"I… have absolutely no clue what I'm doing," Weiss replied, a bewildered look adorning her face as she tried to decipher the cards in her hand.

"Here, let's see whay you've got." Yang slid over to the clueless girl, reaching for her cards.

Weiss pulled away, keeping her cards close to her chest. "Oh, no you don't! The last time—or… the time that was supposed to happen—that you looked at my cards, the good people of Vacuo were conquered. _Ren!"_

"Yes?" Ren moved next to Weiss.

"Assist me in my conquest of Remnant." Weiss demanded, glaring at the cards she had no idea what to do with.

Ren glanced over to Weiss, who was determined to learn the secrets of the game.

"I will teach you," Ren said, and dragged Weiss's chair—Weiss still sitting in it—behind a bookshelf to discuss strategy and tactics.

Pyrrha peered around the corner, curious to see what kind of training Ren intended to give.

Somehow, in the seconds they were out of sight, Ren had set up a projector and white sheet, displaying a map of Remnant and an assortment of different cards.

Ren stood before the seated Weiss, talking quietly and pointing out certain parts of the map with a laser pointer.

From the look on Weiss's face, Ren could've been telling her the secrets to the universe.

"Well," Yang said, taking a peek. "That's a thing."

"Sup, losers."

"Hello Sun," Blake replied, greeting the monkey faunus that had just walked in, Neptune trailing behind him.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Invincible Girl… where's Ice Queen?"

Everyone present (except Nora, sleeping at a table) pointed towards Ren's tutoring session.

Sun and Neptune poked their heads around the bookshelves to get a look.

"Okay…"

"Anyway," Sun said, "I never got the chance to introduce you to my old friend.

"Hi/Hello, Neptune," RBY and Pyrrha chorused.

Sun and Neptune blinked in surprise. "Ok, uh, _what,_ how?" Neptune asked. "I've never met any of you."

Sun shrugged. "I didn't tell them."

Neptune shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, aren't libraries for reading?"

"Don't be a nerd," Sun replied, shoving Neptune lightly.

"Nuh uh uh! ' _Intellect,'_ thank you very much."

Sun rolled his eyes. "Anyway, where's Cole? I haven't seen him in a while, and I wanna make sure this idiot here doesn't commit suicide through attacking-overpowered-Grimm."

The tables fell silent. Blake spoke up. "That's a bit of a… touchy subject at the moment."

"Oh… is he…" Sun drew a finger across his throat.

"Not… quite. Captured. White Fang." Technically true.

"Wait… didn't you guys help raid a ton of White Fang bases? He wasn't there?"

"Unfortunately not," Pyrrha answered.

"Oh… well jeez, I'm sorry about that," Sun said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, what's so important about him that I had to see him immediately?" Neptune asked, "And without my weapon?"

"He's a creature of Grimm," Yang answered, maintaining a perfectly straight face.

"No, seriously, why?"

When no further response was given, Neptune had but one thing to say: "Wait, _what?"_

Blake fished out her scroll and, after flicking through some screens, showed Neptune a video of her sparring against Cole in one of the arenas.

Neptune watched the footage with blatant surprise. "You _can't_ be serious. One of you here is _really_ good at CGI creation."

"Nope."

"You managed to _tame_ a _beowolf?!_ "

"Nope."

"Eh, what?"

"He has a soul." Sun answered.

"…Okay, you're full of c***."

"Nope."

"…What the hell is _with_ this school?"

I===I

"I'll be outside." Glynda walked towards the still-open elevator.

"Well _she_ hasn't changed a bit…" Ironwood commented.

"So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters typically don't travel with their students to the Vytal Festival." Ozpin questioned.

"You know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with you hosting, I thought this might be a good opportunity to catch up."

"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends, however, a small fleet outside my window has me concerned."

"Well, concern is what brought them here."

"I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."

"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men."

"We are in a time of _peace._ Shows of power like this will give the wrong impression."

"Then what do you call your raid against the White Fang?"

"A strike back against a group of terrorists that has been targeting civilians, which in turn increases confidence in the Police Force."

"And the _beowolf?_ "

"We've already discussed this, James."

"And what about now that it's gone _rogue_ on you. That idea of yours to let it come to Beacon Academy—a school training students how to _kill_ grimm—has backfired, and now a grimm with _aura_ is on the loose in Vale! And if what Qrow says is true about—"

"We will handle it _tactfully_. The Vytal festival is a time of peace, but your warships do not send that message."

"I'm just being cautious."

"As am I. Which is why we will train the best huntsmen and huntresses we can."

"And the beowolf?" It seemed Ironwood would not be letting that go.

"I have a plan to deal with him, at least temporarily."

"Well you've done a _great_ job keeping him contained. Your anti-White Fang raid caused some panic in the streets when they saw that beowolf running wild!"

"And relief and happiness when they heard that multiple terrorist cells were dismantled."

"But whoever attacked the Fall Maiden is still out there, and that likely wasn't all their manpower. Do you think your children can win a _war?_ "

"They shouldn't have to," Ozpin told Ironwood evenly.

Ironwood made his way back to the exit. "Just so you know… my army has been ordered to kill the beowolf on sight."

Ozpin gripped his mug tighter.

I===I

The next couple of weeks passed without incident… or sighting of Cole. More and more students arrived at the school, but no matter how they looked, there was no sign of the enemy. This would not be such a bad thing except for the fact that Beacon's dance was coming up. And the most instrumental event in Beacon's fall was upcoming. The CCT virus.

Team RWBY was put in charge of organizing the dance.

"So, which one should we use?"

Weiss held up two pieces of seemingly-identical pieces of fabric.

Blake glanced up from her clipboard, noting the differences—or lack thereof—between the samples. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because Ruby claims there's no difference, when it really is quite obvious!"

Blake grabbed them from the heiress. Perhaps the difference was in texture? Nope. "Um… I think this one is better," Blake told Weiss, pointing out a random one.

"You don't see the difference, do you?" Weiss accused, taking back the samples. Blake opted to stay silent, returning to her clipboard. Weiss huffed and stalked off.

"Hey, Blakey?" Yang called out, dropping a speaker. "Can you run over to the dorm and feed Zwei?"

Blake instantly tensed up. "Uh, why can't Ruby do it?"

"Because _you_ seriously need to get over your fear of dogs," Yang answered.

"No I don't," Blake responded, ears instinctively trying to flatten under the bow.

"Yes you do. Seriously, if you're so against dogs why were you friends with _Cole?_ He's _literally_ a wolf."

"There's a difference!" Blake defended, "Cole is a Grimm, not a regular wolf, and he acts like a person!… unless he chews on my books and you're not telling me."

Yang rolled her eyes and moved over to her partner's side. "Come on, don't be like that! Zwei's a good dog, he'd never do that." Quietly, she added, "Plus, Ruby's been kind of… 'out of it…' about Cole…"

Blake's eyes flicked towards the girl in red. She was busy moping at a table, and Blake thought back to how oddly quiet Ruby had been throughout the past… well, since the raid on the White Fang bases.

Blake sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. "And Weiss can't because…?"

"If I leave, Yang will put fog machines everywhere," the heiress responded casually.

"They're still better than doilies!" Yang shouted back in response.

Blake rolled her eyes but relented. "Fine. But Ruby's coming with me."

Yang shrugged. "If you can get her to move, fine by me."

O=O

"Hey." Ruby looked up from the table to find Blake standing by her side. "Gonna go feed Zwei, want to come with?"

Ruby stared at her teammate for a moment, then slumped back down in her chair. "Nah, not right now."

Blake frowned. "Why?"

"I just… I don't feel like it right now," Ruby mumbled, face on the table.

"You should come. You've been moody and antisocial for the past few weeks, and that's _my_ thing. It would be good for you to get up and about."

"I'll pass."

Blake frowned. Time to try a different tactic.

"You'd better come," Blake began, "or else I may take something from your personal cookie stash and—"

Blake found the blade of Crescent Rose inches from her neck. Even more intimidating was the fact that Ruby wasn't even looking. "Touch them and you die." Ruby said calmly, before collapsing her weapon.

"Tip: don't threaten her cookies!" Yang called over.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Blake responded dryly.

Turning to the still-sulking team leader, Blake decided there was one more thing she could do.

" _Akk!_ What? Hey!" Ruby cried out in surprise as she was suddenly yanked off the chair and dragged by her hood across the floor. "What are you doing?!"

Blake didn't answer, continuing to drag the protesting, flailing girl across the ground even as students watched on.

They eventually reached their dorm room, and Blake dragged Ruby in before locking the door behind them. After sitting Ruby down on a bed, Blake asked, "What's bothering you?"

Ruby pulled her hood over her head and avoided Blake's face. "I already told Yang… I don't wanna talk about it."

"Ruby. The dance is coming up, and we don't even have to _worry_ about anything tomorrow night. The adults will be guarding the CCT tower. Qrow, your father, even General Ironwood. So just relax and enjoy the dance."

"That's not it," Ruby mumbled from inside her hood.

"What is it then?" Of course, Blake already knew—Yang told her in the ballroom—but she was steering the conversation to where she wanted it.

Ruby stayed silent for a moment. "It's Cole…" she finally said quietly. In fact, had Blake not had her faunus hearing, she would've missed the utterance entirely.

"You miss him?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, but not just that… The Vytal Festival is coming up, Cole is nowhere to be found, and I'm not even sure if there's a Cole _left_ to save!"

"You can't just give up on him like that," Blake said, "You saw he took control before! He's still in there somewhere!"

Ruby wasn't convinced. "He was… but Velvet! Cole wasn't able to take control there, was he?"

' _Ah… so that's what caused this mood,'_ Blake realized.

Despite Velvet's repeated insistence that it wasn't their fault, _or_ Cole's, Blake got the feeling Ruby couldn't help but feel like she was responsible… but whether it was because Ruby wasn't fast enough to stop Cole from holding Velvet hostage, or because she was unable to stop Cole from turning in the first pace, Blake didn't know.

"Well, you said he had minor Grimm-side episodes before, right?" Blake asked. She was referring to minor easy-to-snap-out of incidents such as Cole's first encounter with Forever-Fall Sap, in the Beacon's dining hall. After witnessing the moment, Ruby and Yang gave them the full rundown on what to do for incidents such as that as well as what caused them.

Ruby shook her head. "That was easy for him to get control back from. But _this—"_

"He strengthened his mental defenses after each 'attack,' right?"

"…Yeah…?"

"So obviously Salem did the same," Blake reasoned. "So he _is_ still in there, it's just that it's harder for him to get out!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that we don't even know _where_ he is… and we might not until we find Salem, or at least Cinder again," Ruby countered glumly. "For all we know, he might be with _her_ already!" She let her hold fall back and buried her face in her hands. "That's what's wrong…" she mumbled.

"The Vytal Festival is coming up. Your team needs you. And we know Cinder will try to topple beacon, so we need to be ready. And a Cole will likely be with her. So we need you to pull it together so we can get Cole back."

Ruby was silent. When she finally looked up, Blake could see her eyes were wet with tears. "Yeah…" She smiled slightly.

"Now, how about _you_ feed Zwei while _I_ go wipe off all the slobber off my leg."

Ruby peered down to find the corgi licking Blake eagerly. "Seriously though," Blake continued, "please hurry." **[*]**

I===I

"Did you hear about that one beowolf who came to train as a hunter here?"

"Are you kidding me? Who _hasn't_."

"Yeah… haven't seen it around campus though."

"I haven't either… think it has anything to do with—"

"You two going to keep jabbering or are you going to do your job?"

The guards spun, raising their weapons, but lowered them seeing who it was. "Uh, Mr. Branwen, sir!"

The hunter rolled his eyes. "I could've killed the two of you and you wouldn't have known it. Now get moving."

The guards hurriedly resumed their patrol.

O=O

 _*ding!*_

Neo glanced at her scroll.

" _Charges set."_

Pulling a plastic remote from a duffel bag behind her, Neo and Emerald leapt off the balcony they watched the tower from. Landing silently, they dove into the bushes when a huntsman looked their way. Apparently seeing nothing of interest, he turned away.

Between the two huntsmen on the ground, and possibly one in the CCT communications room, it was unlikely they would be able to get in undetected. So, flipping the cap off the detonator, Neo pressed the button.

O=O

"If you think about it, fighting and dancing are not so dissimilar," Ozpin told Ruby.

Ruby shrugged. "Well, yeah, two partners, blah blah blah, but fighting is so more more, hiyaa and kyaaa!" Ruby retorted, complete with arm movements. "And things don't tend to explode at dances." **[**]**

.

The walls exploded.

.

Or rather, detonators set off a series of fire and grav-dust packets in backpacks placed strategically around the building.

The once-calm atmosphere of the dance was shattered instantly, students screaming as stone dust rained down and fire roared throughout the building. The grav dust buckled the reinforced columns that held up the roof, and stone chunks began to fall, only to be grabbed and/or knocked aside by a purple aura.

"Everybody out!" Ozpin roared over the din, and the students heeded him, making their way through to the nearest exit.

O=O

Qrow instantly spun to look in the direction of the ballroom. Fire and smoke billowed out of the roof, which now had a gaping hole in it. " _Ruby!"_ He put a hand to his earpiece, activating the mic. "James, I'm going to check out that explosion. Can you keep the tower secure?"

"Yes. That was the ballroom, wasn't it?"

Qrow grimaced. "Yeah." Just as he was about to turn into a bird for extra speed, something else came through his earpiece.

"I'm coming too," Taiyang said.

Qrow nodded—not caring nobody could see him—and took off.

O=O

Neo nodded as two of the three present huntsmen ran towards the explosion. Neo and Emerald ran into the lobby, stopping momentarily only to disable a couple of guards.

Once inside, they entered the security hub As she had never been there before, it was impossible for Neo to teleport in. She dropped off another bomb, this one lightning dust. With the bomb in place, Neo teleported them to a rooftop and then into the main CCT communications center.

General Ironwood heard something turned around, hand on the hilt of his gun, but saw nothing. He looked to the guards standing by the elevator, who shrugged in response to the unspoken question.

Ironwood returned to his methodical pacing.

Neo disposed of two guards upon entry, leaving one guard and Ironwood standing. While Emerald stood perfectly still, maintaining her illusion on two people, Neo sped to a terminal and began uploading the virus. "Can you hurry up?" Emerald hissed through gritted teeth, beginning to tremble under the strain of her semblance. After a moment, Neo's screen flickered red, displaying the queen symbol. It spread to the rest of the screens, then they simultaneously flickered back to normal. Neo moved back to Emerald and they teleported away.

I===I

"Ruby!" Yang rushed over, followed by Blake and Weiss, and crushed her sister in a bear hug. "Are you ok?!" Yang ended the hug as she looked her sister up and down.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Ruby said quickly. "How is everyone else."

"From what we could see," Weiss said, "Plenty of burns, a couple possible concussions…"

As Weiss continued conversing with Ruby, Blake looked around. Atlesian medical services were helping students injured in the blast, and troops were searching the grounds for intruders. Her experience with the White Fang made her not only search the grounds, but the rooftops as well. Immediately, she spotted something. Or rather, someone. Leaping to the rooftops was someone who seemed to be covered in shadows. Literally, it was as if they were entirely colored black… could it be…?

Blake took off towards the rapidly-receding figure, lending one eye to her scroll to call her rocket locker. It hit the ground ahead of her, and as she reached it she wrenched it open quickly, grabbing Gambol Shroud.

Her dress wouldn't restrict her movement _too_ much, so she Gambol to the rooftops, and yanked on it. The blade caught against something and the ribbon went taunt, so Blake leapt off the ground and scaled the building quickly, using Gambol Shroud as a grappling hook. Reaching the rooftop, she looked in the direction the likely-perpetrator had gone. Racing across the rooftops, Blake followed the indistinct figure, who had just noticed her presence. She dove down into an alleyway, and Blake followed her in close behind her, having gained ground while the bomber hadn't noticed her tail.

Unfortunate choice of alleyway on part of the runner left them no quick escape route once Blake dropped down behind them.

The bomber pulled out their weapon. Blake unconsciously relaxed her guard slightly, recognizing the lance. "Ilia?"

Ilia—Blake was certain it was her—gave no response, opting to attack. Blake dodged out of the way of the electricity-covered cord, responding with a bullet from Gambol Shroud. The end of Ilia's whip came around again and wrapped around her blade. With a yank, Blake was disarmed. Ilia took the opportunity to smash open a door in the alleyway and dashed inside. Blake grabbed her weapon and followed, but was forced to stop when a shelf of wooden crates toppled in front of her, clogging the doorway. Another door slammed shut out of view, and Blake gritted her teeth at the escape.

Between the explosion at the hall and Ilia's appearance, it seemed the timeline was changing faster and in ways they didn't like.

I===I

"I'm just glad you're ok, both of you," Taiyang said, holding his daughters close. Qrow was at the Ballroom, inspecting the blast sites for any clue as to who the specific perpetrator might have been.

Ozpin approached them. "Mr. Xiao Long, If I may have a word with your daughters, please?"

"Of course, go ahead." Taiyang told the headmaster, releasing Yang and Ruby from his crushing bear hug.

"You too, Miss Schnee," Ozpin added. "And, if I may ask, where is Miss Belladonna?"

"Over here, headmaster." The group turned to find Blake running towards them, weapon sheathed but in hand.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the sight of Gambol Shroud, but simply said, "If you could all come with me, please."

I===I

Once team NPR and Glynda were located, the group made their way to Ozpin's office.

When they were all settled, Ozpin began. "This was not foreseen. General Ironwood reports that the virus was likely uploaded, as the security center was destroyed by lightning dust."

"And the firewalls we put in place?" Glynda asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "Brushed aside."

"Have you made attempts to purge the system?" Weiss asked.

"Without success. It would appear Cole's theory was correct; Salem has a technopath on her side." **[***]**

"And what of the bomber?" Pyrrha asked, "Have they been captured? Do we know who they are?"

"It was Ilia," Blake spoke up. "But she got away."

"Ilia? You mean that chameleon faunus?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded. "I spotted her running away and pursued, but she escaped."

"But isn't she in Menagerie?"

"Evidently not. She was among our top operatives for stealth and espionage in the White Fang, so for a infiltration of Beacon, she's a likely choice."

Ozpin shook his head slightly. "Things are not happening as predicted. The CCT is infected, so Ironwood will be disabling and sending back all his robotic troops as soon as possible. Fortunately, the bombing resulted in no casualties thus far, but many are severely injured."

"How bad?"

"Several broken bones, a few concussions, and several burns of various degrees, so far." Glynda answered, reading from her scroll.

"Cinder and her team haven't shown up at Beacon, so it's entirely possible that they may try infiltration and sabotage beyond what they already planned to reduce morale, before doing something to draw out the Grimm." Ozpin said.

"What can we do about it, headmaster?" Pyrrha asked.

Ozpin sighed, setting down his coffee mug. "We must stay vigilant, and not let this defeat bring us down. Technicians will continue to try to remove the virus, but be prepared nonetheless. With the Vytal Festival coming up in a but a few weeks, Cinder and her team will show up. From there, we need only keep an eye on them. Team CNPR, as you are more unknown to them, I would like you to attempt to 'befriend' them, but reveal as little as possible about yourselves."

Ren finished his train of thought. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] *Puts face in hands* I suck at touchy-feely.**

 **[**] Don't jinx it don't jinx it!… you jinxed it.**

 **[***] His name is** _ **literally**_ ' **Watts,' which is an electricity thing. Plus, do we** _ **really**_ **think Cinder would've gone through the trouble of learning to program a virus that could overcome** _ **Atlas**_ **tech?**

 **I===I**

 **Good news bad news.**

 **Bad news: This is late (you already knew that)**

 **Good news: When I finish this story (/put it on hiatus till V5, for cannonicity's sake), I'll have another story to fill the time. So blame/thank the plot bunnies and Harry Potter. It's not a crossover. Just got the idea from there.**

— **dragoncraftertex**

 **.**

 _Omake_!

 _My work here is done. (Originally story cannon, but then Feral Cole happened)_

"Friends! Sisters! Weiss," "Hey!" "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream!" Ruby declared.

"This ought to be good," Yang said.

" _Agreed."_ Cole plopped down next to Yang, setting down a pie on the table.

"Oh hi Cole," Ruby said.

Weiss glanced to the beowolf. "What are you doing here? And why do you have a pie? Don't you not need to eat?"

Cole rolled his eyes. " _Then why do the Grimm hunt us? They don't_ need _to, but they evidently like the taste. Likewise, I like pie. But that's not why I brought it."_

"Anyway," continued Ruby, "I had a dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... _ever!…_ and CNPR can join too _."_

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss demanded.

"I am not a crook."

"…What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby exclaimed.

Yang grinned. "I always kick off my semesters with a—"

In one smooth motion, Cole snatched up the untouched pie he'd brought and slammed it into Yang's face.

" _My work here is done."_ Cole got up and returned to his team.


	13. Observe

**So, uh, remember that idea I mentioned last chapter as a between-Volume filler?**

 **Yeah, screw that idea (or at least put it on the shelf) cause I got an even better one. I even began writing it, which accounts for** _ **part**_ **of my 'absence.'**

 **Reviews!**

 _ **DaToskin:**_ **Don't worry… I guarantee the feral Cole situation will be resolved within the next 1-2 chapters…**

 _ **rocketmce:**_ **I consider 'hell' to be the 'cleanest' swear word, c*** taking fourth place.**

 _ **mister nope:**_ **Nuh uh uh! 'To spaaace!', remember?**

 _ **Bomberguy789:**_ **Yep… the timeline is messed with almost beyond recognition, but Cinder's a clever woman… she'll adapt to changing conditions. Whether Ozpin and his team can stay two steps ahead is the question.**

 **XIII=====Chapter 13: Kill and Observe=====XIII**

Cinder tapped her fingers lightly on the tabletop, mentally reviewing the mission report from Adam's new operative, brought fresh from Menagerie. A blow against Beacon, one of the most heavily-guarded locations in Vale—if not the world—would refresh the terror and unrest that had been somewhat alleviated by the police raids against the White Fang bases.

Granted, security as a whole had been more relaxed due to the ball… but that raised another question. Why was security tighter than normal around the CCT tower _specifically_ that night? Even disregarding the two huntsmen who'd run off after the explosion, there were more guards than normal, and General Ironwood _himself_ was inside the CCT's central communications room.

Something wasn't quite adding up. There should have not been as much security around the CCT as there was. Sure, it was important, but surely it wouldn't have earned _that_ much attention on _this night only._ Something had made them up security that night, but for the life of her Cinder couldn't figure out _what._ The only explanation was a spy. She'd already grilled—almost literally—the pair of guards who had been posted outside the room where she'd explained her plot to Adam. Cinder's beowolf had detected no hint of anything to suggest betrayal. The room was checked for bugs, and she knew her closest associates were infallible, so unless Adam had developed a sudden liking towards humans, there was no reasonable explanation.

Cinder would consider it in more detail later. She motioned to a nearby guard. "Bring them in, then leave us." The guard nodded, rushing out to notify Cinder's false team to come in. Emerald, Neo, Ilia, and Mercury entered the room, the faunus shooting Cinder—and the beowolf 'sleeping' on the ground behind her—an untrusting glare.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Mercury asked, pulling up a chair and leaning back. Emerald snorted in disdain as Mercury rested his feet on the tabletop.

"We will begin our infiltration of Beacon."

I===I

" _Penny!"_ Ruby yelled.

The android turned around to be greeted with an attempt at a tackle-hug. Of course, her greater weight was able to negate Ruby's momentum, but she still stumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Penny said when she recovered, "I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else." _*hic*_

Her statement was contradicted by the telltale hiccup.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "C'mon Penny, it's just me, Ruby!"

"I'm sorry, but I really must—" She was interrupted as Ruby grabbed Penny's arm and dragged her away from the hubbub surrounding them. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Penny asked, yet she did not resist.

Ruby dragged Penny into an alleyway. She had been shopping for some more dust bullets when she spotted Penny on the streets of Vale. Yang had gone on to the store, agreeing to let Ruby reunite with her friend.

Seeing they were alone, Penny asked, "Friend Ruby, what did you wish to discuss?"

"Penny, I _know_."

"Know what?" Penny asked.

"That you're a robot."

Penny's eyes widened. "W—what?" She asked quickly. "What are you talking about? I'm not a robot!" _*hic*_ "That would be ridiculous!"

Ruby didn't need to be a grimm to tell Penny was close to panicking.

"Don't worry, It's fine! I'm still your friend!"

"You promise, Ruby?" Penny asked, sounding desperate.

"Yes, of course! Just because you're made of nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts doesn't make you any less of a person! Cole could tell you had a soul, and Grimm senses are near infallible! You're a _real person_ , Penny!"

Penny had calmed down somewhat. "You're… taking this surprisingly well. But… how did you find out?"

"Cole," Ruby replied. "You had a soul, but something wasn't quite right about you. It only took a few more clues—like how _heavy_ you are—and some connecting-the-dots to figure it out."

"Oh… I have some unfortunate news for you," Penny replied sadly.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ruby asked, suddenly worried.

"General Ironwood has issued the order that… well, Cole Xiao Long is now a kill-on-sight target."

I===I

"And _when_ were you going to tell us?" Yang demanded.

"When it became an issue," Ozpin replied coolly.

"How is it _not_ an issue already?!"

"Tell me, Ms. Xiao Long, have there been any sightings of your brother lately?"

"No?"

"And have the Atlesians made any active attempt to find him?"

"…No…?"

"Then I do not see how it is a problem at the moment. And likely you would not be nearly as worried about him—and therefore less likely to make brash decisions—had you not known."

Ozpin sighed, putting down his cup. "You must understand, Ironwood has been put in a difficult position. As head of security for the Vytal Tournament, he must ensure the safety of everyone here. He was denied a valuable resource when the CCT was hacked. In addition, the citizens of Vale, who were barely tolerant of a beowolf in their midst to begin with, are now calling for blood, having seen said beowolf at the raid against the White Fang, fighting _against_ the huntsmen present. And who is Ironwood to ignore the will of the very people he is protecting?"

Yang still wasn't satisfied. "Then _tell_ them! Tell them that he's being controlled, that that's not _him!"_

"Ignoring the challenge of having scared civilians believe us, what do you propose we tell them? That the Grimm have a Queen that holds untold power over the Grimm? That she has enlisted _humans_ to do Grimm's work? There would be panic in the streets, and you _know_ what panic brings."

Yang scowled, but conceded that Ozpin made a valid point.

"We must wait until your brother reveals himself or is revealed before we make our move regarding him." **[*]**

I===I

"Actually, I'd like to fight her, please."

Pyrrha looked, suspicious, towards the person who had requested a duel with her. Glynda shared her sentiment. "I'm afraid that Ms. Nikos has just finished a spar, please choose another opponent, Mr…"

"Stone," the student replied. "Silver Stone." **[**]**

Pyrrha had actually never encountered Mercury or Emerald, but she was willing to bet that the challenging student and the girl sitting next to him were Cinder's cronies.

Granted, they didn't look like they had been described as by team RWBY, but that's what disguises were about.

"C'mon, she's the invincible girl! Surely she can fight one more person!"

"No, Mr. Stone. Choose someone else or I'll choose _for_ you."

'Silver' grumbled, but said nothing.

"Very well," Glynda's eye held an uncharacteristic mischievous glint, "Your opponent will be Ms. Valkyrie."

"All right!" Nora rose giddily, eager to rain destruction upon her opponent. Even moreso knowing what he was planning.

The two students exited the locker room with their weapons. Nora with her beloved hammer, of course, and 'Silver' wearing a pair of boots and gauntlets. As far as Nora could tell, the armored gloves had no ranged weaponry, and were solely for defense.

Even so, Nora could faintly sense the electricity running through Mercury's legs. Either his boots were made of/infused with lightning dust, or he had bionic legs. That settled it for Nora. She gripped her hammer tightly as Glynda finished connecting their scrolls' aura sensors to the main screen.

"Ready?… Begin."

Nora instantly rushed forward, intending on breaking some legs.

Best of all, it was OK to do so cause his could be replaced!

Mercury (because it was most certainly him) ducked under Nora's swing, pushing forward to land a punch. Nora took the blow in stride, swinging her weapon around and waist level, causing Mercury to leap back. He dodged her next few swings with relative ease, leaping into the air as Nora smashed the ground for an area-of-effect attack. However, the grenade blast into the ground sent the back of the hammer rocketing up towards Mercury. He attempted to twist out of the way, firing bullets from his boots ( _definitely_ Mercury) in an attempt to gain momentum. The hammer was too fast, and it hit him directly in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him.

Nora continued the backwards swing, driving Mercury into the ground. With two hits, Mercury was already in the yellow. Mercury fired his boot's guns—still free even with the hammer pinning him to the ground—towards Nora. She dodged away, taking her hammer with her. Mercury got up and retreated to the edge of the fighting platform, firing repeatedly at Nora, but positioning of the hammerhead allowed her to deflect or block some of the blasts.

Nora charged him again him again, but Mercury leapt over her head and used his greaves to launch himself away from the crushing attack. He once again moved opposite of Nora, up to the arena's edge, shooting the whole time.

"Heeeey!" Nora whined. "Get back over here!"

"I'll keep my distance, thanks," Mercury replied.

Nora shrugged, collapsing Magnhild. "Suit yourself!"

I===I

Mercury muttered very unkind things about Nora as he tried to wash the soot out of his outfit.

I===I

Classes were canceled the last week before the Vytal Festival so that students could train. Pyrrha and Ren decided to use this opportunity to try to get friendly with the enemy. All the easier to keep an eye on them that way.

"Hello!" Pyrrha said, sitting down across from Emerald (who was now blue-themed) at a lunch table.

"Oh, uh, hi," Emerald responded semi-hesitantly.

"My name's Pyrrha," Pyrrha said, maintaining her smile.

"Ren." Ren said simply, sitting down next to Pyrrha.

"I'm Lapis, member of team I-L-N-S, team 'Illuminates.'" Emerald replied. "And this is my partner Silver."

"Sup," Mercury said, wolfing down some pizza slices.

"So, what school are you from?" Pyrrha asked politely.

"Haven Academy," Emerald replied easily. "You guys students here?"

"Yes," Ren answered. "I assume you will be competing in the tournament?"

"Of course! Though, if I'd known I'd be fighting the 'Invincible Pyrrha Nikos'…well, I'm not sure how much of a chance I'll have."

Pyrrha looked toward Mercury. "You wished to spar with me during class Friday, right Silver?"

Mercury looked up from his pizza. "Yeah. I mean, who _wouldn't_ want a go at the Invincible Girl?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Well, your partner, for starters."

O=O

Yang felt the sudden, inexplicable urge to blow an airhorn.

O=O

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. You open for a spar latter, Nikos?"

Pyrrha nodded. "That sounds grand."

I===I

Mercury grumbled as he lay in one of their dorm room beds. Unless her semblance was passive, Pyrrha hadn't even _used_ it against him! He got his a** **[+]** handed to him with no intell to show for it!

In reality, Pyrrha had used her semblance freely on _herself_ , to enhance blows and dodging ability, but not on Mercury at all.

I===I

"Does it seem to you like they're stalking us?" Emerald asked her partner.

Mercury shrugged. "Pfft, I don't know. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Maybe they're overly friendly. Or maybe the Ren guy's _into you_." He teased with a suggestive wink.

"Eww, no!" Emerald replied, shoving Mercury, who just laughed in response.

"Seriously though," Emerald replied, "They were kinda insistent on coming with us."

"I just think they're overly friendly," Mercury said. "They couldn't know about our plans."

Emerald glanced over her shoulder, just in case. Nothing. "Yeah, maybe you're right, I'm just being paranoid…"

I===I

Team ILMN avoided RWBY like they had plague, especially once Neo and Ilia joined them. Sure, they all had disguises, but even so, they couldn't be _too_ careful. Although the constant want of one of Team JNPR made it difficult at times to avoid RWBY, or to simply discuss plans of the future. And when they could discuss or call Cinder, they couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, despite Neo being on vigilant lookout. Despite their interaction, none of JNPR let leak the secret to Pyrrha's 'invincibility.'

I===I

Teams RWBY and JNPR, being among the highest-performing in their year, easily made it through the qualifiers and preliminaries, accounting for four out of six days of fighting. Cinder sat alone, aside from the ever-present beowolf, in her private quarters at the remaining White Fang base. She watched the ongoing match between teams RWBY and ABRN.

While Coal held no interest towards the onscreen proceedings, Cole found himself cheering each time RWBY landed a good blow. Of course, unless they _really_ messed up, Cole already knew the eventual outcome. And indeed, a final blow from Yang finished off the round.

Honestly, he had resigned himself to the fact that the timeline was mutated almost beyond comprehension. He hoped that the foreknowledge and planning ability of Ozpin and crew would be enough to counter Cinder's adjusted plans. He had expected destruction, to be sure… but this… RWBY was in for a bumpy ride.

 **I===I===I**

 **[*] This section accounted for the majority of the delay.**

 **[**] So creative, Mercury.**

 **[+] Wasn't sure whether this was censor-worthy or not :P**

 **I===I**

 **Yeah… I got nothing. Except that either the next chap or the one after will be super-quick to come out, cause I got it already partially-written.**

— **dragoncraftertex**


End file.
